There once was a farm in a beautiful land of plenty. This farm produced wonderful vegetables and was home to lots and lots of animals. There were cows and horses, pigs and sheep, dogs and goats. There was also a Rooster and a Kitty. Now, most of the animals got along, the cows would graze with the sheep, the goats would mill about the yard while the pigs played in the mud. Kitty liked to visit all of the animals on the farm, and because she was friendly to all of the animals, she was loved by all of them.
The Rooster however, spent a lot of time on the roof of the barn and clucking about the yard. He would wake up the farm every morning, and he took a lot of pride in his work. After he crowed, he would spend the day telling all of the animals about crowing and waking up the farm. The other animals would always listen politely, and the Rooster thought this was why they liked him, so he clucked about crowing every day.
The Kitty was different though, she always listened politely like the other animals, and she would meow to the Rooster about things that the Rooster thought were very interesting and the Rooster loved to be around her because she made him feel special. So the Rooster started to cluck to the Kitty about more than just the sunrise, and the Kitty always listened.
The Rooster was full of ideas and thoughts, many of the about what it would be like to live off the farm. The Rooster thought that he was better than the other animals, because he would wake up the whole farm, so he thought they all needed him. He didn’t listen to the other animals when they asked him to take Sundays off and not wake up the farm. He did it anyway, because it was his job. So the other animals continued to be polite and the Rooster continued to wake up the farm on Sundays.
One day, the Kitty came to the Rooster with a look of concern. She told him about a conversation that the farmer had had with his wife. His wife, like all of the animals on the farm, was tired of waking up early on Sundays. Now, the farmer, who liked the Rooster said that he would give the Rooster a few more weeks to see if he would stop crowing on Sundays and his wife agreed. The Kitty said that she was worried about the Rooster because she really liked the Rooster, and the Rooster was flattered.
As the weeks went by, the Rooster spent his days waking up the farm and making his feathers pretty for Kitty and clucking about the importance of waking up the farm with the other animals. The animals were getting very tired of hearing his stories by now and had started to grumble. Kitty told Rooster this and that she was worried about the Rooster because she really liked the Rooster, and the Rooster was flattered. And he continued to crow on Sundays.
As time went on, the Kitty got more and more worried about the Rooster, because the Rooster kept crowing on Sundays and making the other animals mad. Sometimes, she would try as hard as she could to tell the Rooster how concerned she was, and these times, the Rooster would even get mad and snap at the Kitty. This made the Kitty very upset, but she continued to try anyway, because she loved the Rooster.
The Rooster didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know why the Kitty would say things to him that made him feel worried and concerned. As far as he knew he was doing the best job he could. It made him want to leave the farm and find another farm that would appreciate him more. The Rooster completely missed the point that everyone there wanted him to be a better Rooster, because he was part of the farm and the animals, though frustrated with him, like having him. But the Rooster wouldn’t listen.
So one Sunday morning, the Rooster crowed long and loud, until all of the animals were up and all of the lights in the farmhouse were on. Proud of himself, the Rooster began to preen his feathers and think about life off the farm. Soon, the Kitty came all the way up to the roof to see the Rooster, and she looked very worried. She pleaded with the Rooster to apologize to the farmer and tell him that this would be the last Sunday to crow. The Rooster got very mad at the Kitty, because he thought that he was better then the other animals and shouldn’t be given advice. He clucked very mean things at the Kitty, and she was heartbroken, because she loved the Rooster and he was saying these things to her.
While this was happening, the Rooster didn’t see the farmer get in the truck and drive off. But the Kitty saw him return later with a bag from the store. When the farmer opened the bag, the Kitty saw an alarm clock and a loaf of crusty bread. Panicking, she raced to the Rooster to try again to ask him to apologize, but the Rooster just ignored her. He also ignored the farmer collecting vegetables and getting out a large pot full of water. And as the farmer sharpened his butchering knife, the Rooster thought about life off the farm, and the Kitty cried because there was nothing else she could do.
So in the end, the Rooster ignored the beauty and richness of the farm and the friendship of the animals and the love of the Kitty. He did the best job he thought he could do, despite the best advice of everyone around him. And the Rooster, who thought that he wanted nothing more than to be off the farm, was granted his wish.
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