“The Half-Chick.” The Green Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1892, pp. 27-31.

Tale Summary

Once upon a time, there was a black Spanish hen who had chicks, and one of them hatched out of his egg with the appearance of being cut in half. He had only one wing, one eye, and one leg, and his mother named him “Medio Pollito,” which is Spanish for half-chick. His mother worried for him because he would never be as successful as his siblings, and he would always need to remain with her. This chick was not well-behaved and looked and acted very much unlike his siblings. One day, he decided that he was tired of living in a farmyard, and announced that he intended to make a journey to Madrid to see the king there. Medio Pollito’s mother and siblings entreated him to stay, but he would not listen to them, nor would he listen to his mother’s last advice, which was to be kind and civil to everyone he met. As he hopped along, he came to a stream that was clogged by leaves and weeds. The stream asked him for help, but he haughtily refused and kept walking. Then, he came to a fire that had been left unattended and would soon burn out, which also begged for help from the half-chick and asked for sticks and dry leaves. Again, Medio Pollito refused because his business was too important. Before he reached the castle, he passed by a large chestnut tree where the wind had become caught in the branches. It asked for Medio Pollito’s help to become unstuck, but he again refused. He reached the gates to see the King, when the King’s cook saw him, and thought he would be perfect to make chicken broth for the King’s dinner. Medio Pollito was placed in a pot of water over a fire. The half-chick begged the water for mercy, but the water reminded him how he refused to help when it was clogged by leaves in the stream, and said he was being punished. He begs the fire for mercy, but it reminds him how he refused to stock it with kindling, and that he is being punished. When the cook came to check on him, he found him unsuitable for dinner because he was too burnt, and tossed him out the window. The wind picked him up and also refused to show him mercy, and left him on the top of the steeple of the highest church in town. He remains there today.