The Ambitious Rooster's Secret

This post has been published by me as a part of Blog-a-Ton 56; the fifty-sixth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. 

Jumpy was an ambitious rooster who lived on a huge farm, with various other animals. Though he lived with them, he never considered them of any importance, since Jumpy was ambitious, you see.

The tall, handsome rooster with lovely multiple coloured feathers and a bright red comb took pride in his being ambitious and a cut above the rest. The cows fed on grass all day and were milked twice, the sheep were for wool, the chickens were for eggs and the pigs were for meat. But Jumpy had an important job to do, which was to wake everyone up, so that they could begin working. Thus, he was full of self importance and pride. His only friend on the farm was master's dog, because the dog had a high status, like him, or so he thought.

Now, we must also know why he was ambitious. While the cows grazed all day and the pigs rolled in mud, and everyone else just went about their day as they were meant to, Jumpy had some dreams. Everyday, he saw the sun coming up in the sky, the clouds travelling here and there, and birds flying, the eagles chasing pigeons and the flocks of migratory birds doing their seasonal movements. He imagined he could fly in the vast, open sky some day. Every time, he looked up and remembered his dream, he would be giddy with happiness and pride and go jumping all over the farm.

'If only they knew,' he thought secretly, 'that there is a life beyond this farm, and there is so much to do, but they do not know, and they cannot even think like me. they have no imagination and no ambition. Stupid animals!' 

Though Jumpy was snobbish and unfriendly to the other animals, the animals loved him. He was their rockstar. They were in awe of him, and they talked of him in hushed tones, praising his sophisticated mannerisms, his handsome physique and his charismatic personality. The cows wanted to cock-a-doodle-do like him, but only a 'moo' came out whenever they tried to imitate their worshipped hero. The sheep wanted to get rid of all the unsightly, dusty wool and to have lovely multi coloured slender feathers like him. All the hens wanted to be with him and sighed with desire upon seeing him. The pigs desired to have a bright red comb like Jumpy, and rolled in muddy swamps to hide their embarrassing looks. While Jumpy, basking in the glory of his own aura and mystery, knew very well that he was the handsomest creature on the farm, and walked tall with conceit, his chest puffed in self-admiration.

Once, thinking about his flying dream, Jumpy could not sleep all night and dozed off in the wee hours of the morning. As a result, he could not give his wake up call and the animals woke up late. To their dismay, they saw Jumpy sleeping. They huddled up, worried and sad. Everyone had their own theory for Jumpy's unusual behaviour.

'Probably he has bird flu,' said a worried pig. Pigs know a lot about flu, as we all understand.

'No, that could not be right. Jumpy is the healthiest rooster I have known.' The head-cow opined. She was just back from an animal-rights convention in the capital, which had effectively got beef banned all over the country. 'I think he is sad because no one fights for chickens' rights. It is still being served, and there is no likelihood that it is going to stop in near future.' 

'Oh, I know just what is wrong with him,' chipped in the black sheep, 'I think he is worried that the fasting season is getting to a close and his life  might be in danger. We all must talk to him and assure him.'

'Jumpy is not afraid of such things. Probably he needs a girlfriend, and he will be all right,' said one of the coquettish hens, fluttering her nictitating membrane.

'Woof, what are you all doing here, wasting time? Don't you have work to do?' The dog walked right in the middle of the group. 

'Mr. Dog, we were wondering, what is the secret ailment that is bothering Jumpy. The farm is so lifeless without his energetic cock-a-doodle-do, and his enthusiastic run all over the farm.' said the head-cow.

'Oh, it's no secret. He was up all night, chatting with me about his dreams. Do you know, he is such a revolutionary, he wants to fly, high up in the sky. Though he is a flightless bird, he is a bird nevertheless. You all are his neighbours and still have no idea about his life!' The dog growled. 'Now stop dallying and get to work everyone!'

Everyone nodded. They could not do a lot in any case. So they decided to leave Jumpy alone and went on doing what they did daily. 

A few guests arrived on the farm that day, and as we can easily guess, they had a sumptuous meal of farm fresh chicken curry and hot steamed rice. 

The next morning, as the animals woke up grudgingly, without the wake up call again, they saw  the dog burying something deep in the ground. They decided that they should ask him to talk to Jumpy and convince him to stop this lackadaisical attitude and resume work. They were missing Jumpy too much and were really worried. As they stood in a semi-circle near the dog, he gave them a smile.

'Hey folks, its great news. Jumpy's dream of flying came true. He has left the farm and has gone to fly with the other birds.' Said the dog, slyly, as he covered the last bone with dirt.

The animals, happy for their hero, went on doing what they usually did. Jumpy's secret had become Jumpy's legend on the farm now.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked http://www.blogaton.in/2015/10/blogaton56.html">here

. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following http://blogaton.in/">Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: 04.