A crowing victory?

Press, 23 June 1981, Page 14

A crowing victory?

One of the earliest books published in English was ■‘Canterbury Tales,” by Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote his stories as if they were being told by pilgrims on the road to Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. A well-known one is the tale about the vain and noisy Chanticleer. Chanticleer was a French rooster, a king among birds, and the finest crower in the world — or so he thought. Every morning his loud cock-a-doodle-doo rang out across the land. As if in response to the clarion call the stars vanished, the sun appeared in the sky and people began to bustle from

s their houses to start the s day's work. f- The proud crower really s believed that he had power g to chase away the darkness d and bring forth the sun. n A strict ruler over his kingdom of hens, he would e not allow them to. wander into the _woods, but often he would forage for grubs and insects to give them. a treat. h One day when he was looking s, for tid-bits a large fox sidled c up alongside and lay watching him. d Chanticleer was not afraid, it He knew that he could esn cape, if need be. But the fox, ll it seemed, had no designs on n the haughty rooster. He said d that he had stopped to adn mire him because he 'had

known his handsome father. Now Chanticleer was proud of his shining golden feathers set off by a jetblack bill and a flaming red comb; but most of all he valued his voice. Sometimes he wondered if it was as strong as his father’s had been. Here was his chance to find out. In reply to Chanticleer’s question the cunning flatterer advised him to stretch his neck and close his eyes to produce a deeper sound more like his father's.. Chanticleer stood poised for a crow, that did not come. In a flash the. fox had grabbed him by the throat . and was making off-into the woods.

With a last desperate effort the rooster found his voice and let out one long loud cock-a-doodle-doo: The farmer’s wife heard the frantic cry and rushed to help. Neighbours followed her but the fox was far ahead. Chanticleer was growing weak but- he kept his head and decided to beat the fox at his own game. In a breathless whisper he begged the fox to tell the pursuers to give up the hopeless chase. The fox thought that it was a good' idea — until he opened his mouth to call out. In an instant the smart rooster was out of reach winging his way up into the trees. But he was not feeling proud, or clever.