Long, long ago, when the world was young, many creatures were very different. One of these was the chicken. All chickens used to be very fat and round. They would sluggishly hop around eating all the food they could find. Being this fat was a true disadvantage, as people prized the fat because it would fuel their oil lamps for a long time. Since the chickens were so fat and slow-moving, they almost always were caught. That is, until one day things changed.

Chick’aku, the ancestor of all modern chickens, was peacefully eating an ear of corn on a sunny mountainside. Suddenly, a terrible cry reached her ears. It was a group of people out to catch chickens! Chick’aku ran, or rather hopped, for her life. The people were in close pursuit as she bounced up the grassy slope. She headed for a large boulder lying nearby. Once on the other side, she paused to think. Where could she go? She must hide! The hollow tree a few feet to left seemed perfect.

The humans went rushing right past Chick’aku’s hiding place, but soon noticed that their prey had evaded them. They began to search the area. Chick’aku just hoped they would go away. Her recent exertion and the hot sun were causing her to get exceedingly hot. In fact, she thought she could feel the fat sloshing around inside her because it had melted.

Right when the hunters were leaving, the youngest, a boy of nine, spotted Chick’aku. She jumped out of the tree and right into a briar patch. The sharp thorns bit into her skin, but she crawled out and kept on fleeing. Then a strange thing happened. With every hop she took, molten fat ran out of the holes in her. In mere seconds she was a nice, lean chicken. The people stopped chasing her, as her valuable fat was gone. Now she could walk easily and people would no longer try to capture her. Chick’aku was overjoyed!

As you may have guessed, all of the fat chickens were eventually hunted down by people. Only Chick’aku’s children, who were also nice and lean, were left alone. To this day chickens have remained like that. That’s why eating chicken is healthier than eating red meat.

Note: This is a little tidbit I wrote way back in 8th grade and just now dug up.