Pecaw the Chicken by Charlotte Mitchell

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Pecaw the Chicken by Charlotte Mitchell

There was once a small house on a prairie, where a family lived. It included a mother, a father, a small girl named Sally, and their pet chicken named Pecaw.

          The father was a hunter who provided for the family, by bringing them animals to eat. But alas! There was a sudden decline in the amount of animals in the area, and he could not find any good things for his family to eat.

          Even the trusty vegetable garden stopped providing food, as the soil suddenly went dry and stale.

          The family was forced to eat their entire supply of food they had stalked up for the winter, until they were reduced to a can of tomato soup and a small jar of peanuts.

          “It’s no use,” the mother said one day, “we have nothing left. I’m afraid we must eat our chicken, Pecaw.”

          Sally had heard all of this, as she was pressing her ear against the door. “No!” She cried when she heard this, bursting into the room, “We CANNOT eat Pecaw, we simply cannot!”

          “Sally, listen to me,” father said, looking her in the eyes. “We shall be able to eat well for an entire month, probably, because Pecaw is a nice and fat-”

          “Oh, DON’T!” Sally whimpered, tears streaking down her face. “Don’t talk of Pecaw in that way! She might just be a chicken to you, but she is my best friend in the whole world! Please, if you kill her, I will have nobody to talk to!”

          Mother sighed. “Sally, she’s just a chicken.”

          Sally raised her tear streaked face, outraged. “JUST a chicken? JUST a chicken? HOW DARE YOU!”

          “Sally, please, that’s enough-”

“No, no!” Sally screamed “You don’t understand!”

“Don’t tell me that I don’t understand, young lady,” Mother said, her voice sharp. “I have lived many more years than you have, and I understand much more than you do.”

“Oh, please…” Sally sobbed, clutching her mother’s dress skirt. “Please mother, forgive me.. Please spare Pecaw’s life… I’ll do anything!”

“Well,” Father said, regarding his daughter in her pitiful state, “We could give you a test. If you pass, we will spare your chicken’s life.”

Sally raised her head, nodding. “Oh yes, yes, a test!” She stood up.

“Go to Bear Valley with Pecaw. If you bring her back alive, we won’t eat her.” Father stood with his arms crossed, making it sure that it was up for no debate.

“B-bear valley?” Sally stuttered. “No, y-you don’t mean..”

“Yes, we do.” Mother interrupted. “Sally, this is ridiculous. You cannot get emotionally attached to a CHICKEN. You’re 14 years old-”

“Lauren, shall we not scold her any more?” Father suggested. “Clearly she cannot handle any more stress while she’s this miserable.”

“I’M MISERABLE?” Sally demanded. “Look in the mirror and you’ll see miserable, I’ll tell you that!”

“SALLY!” Mother cried. “Should we perhaps kill Pecaw now, and-”

“No, you will not.” Sally said flatly. “You promised me you would wait, and you will. Or else you’re even more wretched than I thought. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to pack for Bear Valley.” And she turned her back on her parents.

“YOUNG LADY! EXCUSE ME?” Mother shrieked. “APOLOGIZE!”

“No.” Sally said.”No, not when I know why you want to send me to Bear Valley. You want me gone. This whole thing, it wasn’t to get us to eat Pecaw. You don’t want me to come back. One less person to take care of, one less mouth to feed. And don’t even try to deny it. You two are horrible parents.”

“Sally, please-”

“Don’t even TRY to guilt trip, gaslight, or manipulate me.” Sally declared defiantly. “Even if I do survive bear valley, I’m not coming back. Maybe I’ll join a band of hunters or get recruited to the circus, who knows. But I know one thing. I never want to see your faces again.”

And with that, Sally departed.

Bear valley was a vast and dark place crawling with vicious bears who would eat you up.

My parents wanted me there so that I could be eaten alive...

Sally shivered at the thought as she trudged through the fields. It had been around two hours since she had stormed out of her parents house, and she was starting to wish she hadn’t left quite so hastily. She had enough sense to pack the essentials, like a blanket, a pack of matches, a pocket knife (to defend herself), a tin of water, and a can of soup.

But she wished she had changed into better shoes or perhaps more sensible clothes. And the sac in which she had packed her belongings was starting to weigh down on her shoulders.

“Pecaw,” Sally called, and the energetic chicken came sprinting up to her heels. Despite having been walking for a very long time, she was still bursting with energy.

Pecaw was a large, beautiful chicken with gold and red plumage and intelligent brown eyes. Simply too gorgeous and too precious to kill, at least in Sally’s opinion.

“Pecaw, I need you to promise that when we reach Bear Valley, you will stay by my side AT ALL TIMES, and not wander off under ANY circumstances. Can you do that?”

Pecaw’s eyes widened, as if to say, We’re going INTO Bear Valley? Are you crazy? That’s where we get eaten.

“I know, I know,” Sally muttered, “but it’s our only choice.” She gazed up at the sky. “Night’s falling, and we need a place to stay. And I don’t know if this is just a rumor, but I've heard that at the center of Bear Valley, a civilization thrives. It might not be true, but if it is, it’s our only hope. We live hundreds of miles away from anything other than the Valley, and we’ll starve to death before we make it there. And you will absolutely NOT catch me going back to my parents house, no.”

Pecaw then nodded understandingly. Oh, I see. Now I comprehend your point of view.

Sally gulped as she saw the looming trees forming a pathway in front of her. The entrance to Bear Valley.

She approached carefully and stopped at the opening between the two trees. There were claw marks on one of the trunks. Only then did she realize that there was a very good chance that she would die. Sally squared her shoulders, glancing at Pecaw.

“It’s too late to turn back now isn’t it?” She asked the chicken.

Oh, I dunno, maybe you can go home if you want.

“That is NOT my home, not with those awful people.” Sally said firmly.

If you say so…

Sally took a deep breath. “Remember, don’t stray off the trail, Pecaw. I mean it! I know you really like to explore, but this is serious.”

Fine, fine, okay! Bossy, much?

Sally had to smile. Even in the face of death, Pecaw managed to crack a joke. The thought that she might never see her beloved chicken again nearly reduced her to tears.

“Okay then. Let’s go.” And into Bear Valley they went.

Things were going well at first. Pecaw stayed on the trail and they didn’t run into any bears.

This is too good to be true. Sally thought. She didn’t say it out loud of course, because even the slightest loud or echoey noise would draw the bears attention-

CRAAACK.
          Sally glanced down. She was so busy in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she had stepped on a loud and noisy stick.

She glanced at Pecaw.

That isn’t good, is it? Her feathered friend asked.

Sally shook her head. She had messed up. But it was okay, maybe the noise hadn’t been as loud as she thought it was, maybe they were all fine…

A loud growl interrupted Sally's thoughts. She looked at Pecaw hopefully.

No, that wasn’t me! Pecaw implied with her eyes. And I’m assuming that wasn’t you either, based on the look you're giving me? I swear, this… Pecaw trailed off, looking straight ahead in pure shock. Sally… turn around.

Sally whirled around and, to her absolute horror, the largest and most massive bear she had ever seen was standing right in front of them, licking its lips. It was visibly hungry.

Don't make any sudden movements, Sally recalled, racking her brain to remember what that vile man she once called father had told her during a survival lesson. And don’t break eye contact. Stand up big and tall, try to make yourself look bigger than you actually are.

So as much as Sally wanted to turn around and signify to Pecaw to run, she couldn’t do that. She straightened herself up and looked directly into the eyes of the bear.

And the bear hesitated. Should he eat her? Sally slowly reached into her sac and pulled out her knife. The bear, seeing this blade, roared angrily. Sally cringed. Now all the other bears would know where she was. And it was no use staying here anyways, the bear was already approaching her, intending to eat her. And it would be painful, that much she could tell. It was no use trying to kill the bear either, her knife was too weak to pierce the bear’s thick hide.

She slowly cocked her head and met Pecaw’s eyes.

“Run.”

They wasted no time sprinting through the valley, back the way they came.

“No. Through the trees.” Sally gasped between breaths.

Isn’t that where all the bears are? Pecaw demanded incredulously.

“Not here. The trees.. The trees are too compact and.. and close together for the b-bears to..” It was hard to sprint and talk at the same time. “We.. need to.. Be safe in.. the-”

Don’t worry, I understand. Pecaw assured Sally, and the two of them jumped into the nearest cluster of tightly packed trees. The bear, which was right on their tail, sprinted right past them, not even noticing.

Oh my… that was dangerous… if we had stayed on the path a second longer, the bear would’ve caught up to us..  Pecaw realized.

“Hey, Pecaw?”

Hmm?

“You.. you’re sitting on my stomach.”

Oh, sorry, hold on, there we go. Pecaw flapped her wings (as if it would do anything), and rolled off of Sally.

So… that happened. What do we do now?

“Well, we’ve only got one can of soup, and one jar of water left,” Sally said, “so unless we get out and defend ourselves, we’re going to starve to death. What do you say we do?”

I’m just a chicken! Do you think I’ll be coming up with any genius escape plans? What do you want me to do, convince the bears to become vegetarians?

“No, but… actually, yeah. Yeah, do that.”

Huh? What do you mean-

The pathway was crammed with huge, hungry bears, eager to eat. They had heard the rumors that there was a girl and her chicken in the valley, and they wanted in on that food.

And then… the beautiful, juicy chicken stepped on the pathway, ruffling her feathers nervously.

“Aargh, eat! Eat chicken!” The leader of the bears, Rupert, cried, and all the other bears roared in approval.

“Now, now, wait just a minute,” the chicken insisted, “I have something to tell you. It’s amazing.”

Rupert hesitated. Should they kill this yummy looking snack? Or listen to what she has to say?

“It’s the coolest thing ever, I swear.” Pecaw promised.

“Hmmm. What is this cool thing you demand to show us?” Rupert questioned.

“Are you ever hungry?” Pecaw asked.

“Oh, all the time!” A bear shouted.

“Yes, hardly any yummy food ever comes to Bear Valley! Not fair!” Another one roared.

“We want to eat!” A third one cried, which started an uproar of chanting and cheering for food.

“Which is why we want to eat you,” Rupert finished, silencing the crowd.

“I have a solution to all your problems,” Pecaw claimed, “and it doesn’t even involve eating me!”

“Impossible!”

“You are the only food here!”

“Have you brought us other yummy snacks?”

“Even better!” Pecaw said mysteriously. “The solution I present to you is called… Vegetarianism!”

“What is that?”

“Is that a religion?”

“A form of government?”

“No, my friends, vegetarianism is finding food right before your very eyes, no matter where you are!” Pecaw declared.

“Is this a form of magic?”

“Yes, what kind of sorcery is this?”

“You make small animals appear before your very eyes?”

“No no, think more… green.” Pecaw explained. “Look at the grass beneath your feet, look at those fruits in the trees.”

“Are you suggesting we eat that?”

“Gross!”

“Absolutely disgusting!”

“No, no,” Pecaw insisted, “becoming vegetarian gives you SUPERPOWERS!”

“Superpowers?”

“Oh, NOW I’m listening!”

“Yes, yes, watch this…” Pecaw pulled out a large, fluffy blanket. “I ate the berries on that bush, and now I can teleport!” She held the blanket in front of herself, and when she dropped it, she was gone. Well, actually, she had just run very quickly while the bears were distracted.

“What?”

“Incredible, Ludicrous!”

“Where did the chicken go?”

“I’m right over here!” Pecaw exclaimed, jumping out of a bush. Everyone screamed.

“You ate berries to do that?”

“I want to try!”

“Where are the berries?”

“No so fast,” Pecaw said, “I have one more trick to show you! I will make fire dance on my feathers!”

The bears gasped. “Ridiculous!”

“Nobody can do that!”

“Except vegetarians, of course!”

“Observe,” Pecaw told them. She showed them the back of her wing, and what do you know, a flame was flickering on her feather. It quickly went out, but it still left the bears shocked. “I used the leaves on that tree to do that!” Pecaw boasted. Well, actually, behind her wing, she was hiding a match box.

“Incredible, amazing!”

“Let me try!”

“Yes, give me those leaves!”

The bears all scrambled to gobble up the berries and leaves, and to their surprise, they tasted awful. And as hard as they tried, they could not teleport OR control fire! This chicken was lying!

Pecaw started laughing.

“What, exactly, is so funny?”

“Yes, what’s hilarious about a liar?”

“Should we eat you now?”

“No no,” Pecaw said between hysterical cackles, “it’s just.. Man, bears really are the most idiotic animals ever. Look above you, dimwits!”
          “HUH?”

All the bears craned their necks and saw some human girl in the branches of the trees. She was hacking at the wood with a knife, and.. Oh no, she was going to cut off the largest branch! It was going to fall on them! They were all going to die!

“Yeah, losers, I bet you didn’t see this coming!” The girl shouted down at them before making the final swing with her knife. The branch came down and fell on them with quite a crash.

And that was how Sally and Pecaw single handedly killed all the bears in Bear Valley.

“I lost the knife,” Sally admitted as she climbed down the tree. “Dropped it while I was climbing down. Sorry.”

It’s okay, Pecaw assured her, there’s no more bears.

Oh, there isn’t?

Sally and Pecaw slowly turned around, and found themselves face-to-face with Rupert, the bear leader. His fur was coated in blood, and a thick wound ran across his face, but he was alive alright.

You just killed my friends and family. Rupert said as he advanced menacingly. So it’s not just about being hungry anymore. I want even.

Hey, Sally… Pecaw muttered, what’s our plan?

You’ve got nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. Rupert continued. You haven’t even got a knife anymore. Would you like to hear what I’ll do to you now that I have you in my clutches?

“Please, I’d rather not…” Sally said meekly.

I’ll pull all your teeth out, one by one. And then I’ll carve your eyes out. I’ll cut each of your fingers off one by one, and I’ll skin you alive! How does that sound, eh? You’ll regret messing with me and the bears of Bear Valley-

With a start, Rupert fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his head. He was dead.

“Sorry about that, mate,” a voice from overhead said nonchalantly. Sally and Pecaw squinted upwards and saw around twenty human figures descending from the trees.

“Hi, uh.. Who are you?” Sally asked slowly.

“We’re the hunters of Bear Valley,” the voice, which Sally managed to pinpoint as the man in the front holding a crossbow, said, “And you are?”

“Uhm, my name’s Sally,” she said awkwardly, “and this is my friend, Pecaw.”

“Ah… so, you’re friends with an animal?” The man asked.

“She’s my best friend.” Sally said.

“Sorry, not trying to offend, it’s just that I’m more used to EATING animals than befriending them.” A chorus of hearty laughter echoed among the other men when he said this.

If I’m being honest, I’m getting bad vibes from these people. Pecaw muttered.

“Hush, Pecaw,” Sally told her, “they just saved us, we should be more grateful towards them.”

“I see.. So you talk to this chicken?” Another man asked.

“And what’s it to you?”

The men laughed. “Well, either they’re a very special chicken, or you’re a very special young lady,” one man said as he winked.

I’m gagging internally. Pecaw mumbled uncomfortably.

“ANYways,” Sally said, “we’re looking for directions to the middle of Bear Valley… I mean, are the rumors true? Is there a civilization within the deepest parts of the valley?”

The men laughed. It seemed like part of their overall characters to laugh for no reason. “Ah, young miss, WE are the ones in the center of Bear Valley. We call ourselves: The Brotherhood Of Orion. Or B.O. for short.”

Sally blinked. “B.O. as in… body odour?”

The men laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. “No, no, for Orion, like the famous hunter. We all aspire to become just like him.”

For the record, I do think these guys stink really bad. Pecaw added.

“Be nice to them!” Sally insisted before turning her attention back to the men. “YOU guys are the civilization inside the valley? Just twenty or so dudes?”

“Nah, there’s a couple thousand more back at base. We’re just the scout patrol. We protect innocent wanderers from hungry bears and other dangers.”

“Well then take me to your base, please,” Sally demanded.

The men laughed for the hundredth time. “You see, to see our base, you must join the brotherhood. And to join the brotherhood, you must earn our respect in some way.” The man with the crossbow said.

“I just killed literally every bear in this valley, and you want ME to earn YOUR respect?” Sally asked in disbelief.

The man blinked and looked at the corpses of the bears. “You- you… I mean, respect earned! Wow! Come, come!”

The men escorted Sally to the base all while Pecaw grumbled about not liking these men.

“Pecaw, that’s enough,” Sally said at last, “these men have treated us kindly, plus they’re basically our only hope at finding shelter now. Show them some respect, please.”

But Sally, they're hunters! I’m an animal that is commonly hunted! Those two do not mix well! The last hunter we lived with tried to eat me-

“Do NOT bring my father into this,” Sally interrupted angrily, “he was awful, and you don’t get to use him as a comparison for these lovely people!” She ran ahead and joined the man with a crossbow, who she had learned was the head scout patrol, and was named Pierce.

“You know, we could turn you into a formidable hunter, Sally,” Pierce remarked as he fiddled with his crossbow.

“Me? A hunter?” Sally could hardly believe it.

“Yes you. Said you used a pocket knife? How about we give you a real one?” And out of his coat pocket, Pierce pulled out the largest, shiniest knife Sally had ever seen.

“Woah…”

Pierce grinned. “Give it a try, won’t you?” He handed her the dagger and she examined it in awe. “How’s it feel?”

“Wonderful,” Sally breathed.

“Me, I prefer a crossbow,” Pierce stated. “But you? Perhaps you like that better. It’s certainly more useful in close combat.”

Sally was so busy admiring her new weapon, she didn’t realize everyone had stopped walking until she heard Pierce say,

“Ah, we have arrived in the city of the brotherhood.”

Sally looked up, and gasped in amazement. She knew then that she would never forget the sheer beauty of the city for the rest of her life.

The next weeks passed in a blur. Sally would get up, do an early morning training session, eat some delicious food, train some more until it was time to take a break, eat some more, and then train until bedtime.

Through which she learned to handle a sword, ride a horse, archery, and many different forms of martial arts, such as karate, jiu jitsu, and taekwondo. She excelled at everything, and was told she had the potential to become a great hunter. That this was where she belonged. And Sally really believed them.

One night, there was a feast to celebrate the summer solstice. The cook, named Porkchops, crafted the most delicious meal Sally had ever tasted. She didn’t know what the meat was, but MAN it tasted good.

That night, as Pierce walked her home, a strange thought occurred to Sally. She had not seen Pecaw in a while.

”Pierce?” Sally asked.

“Hmm?”

“Do you know where Pecaw happens to be? I want to talk to her. Just to, y’know, apologize for not paying attention to her these past weeks.”

Pierce then looked incredibly guilty. “Sally.. There’s no easy way to say this, but- uh, um.. we-”

“Oh, just spit it out!”

“We KILLED Pecaw, alright?”

Sally blinked, refusing to believe it. “You- you what?”

“To eat.” Pierce admitted. “She was just there, never doing anything, always wandering around. Just TOO easy a target.”

Sally shook her head in disbelief. “No, no, you WOULDN’T do this! If this is some sort of joke then it’s NOT funny-”

“Sally, it’s not a joke!” Pierce exclaimed. “You know that dinner we just had? How you were saying that the meat tasted great? Yeah, that was PECAW! You were eating her!”

Sally let out a choked sob, clutching at her mouth. This couldn’t be happening. No, no, no, no, no…

“Look, this is just part of the Brotherhood Of Orion, okay? You have to make sacrifices when necessary-”

“NO!” Sally screamed angrily. “I DO NOT WANT TO BE PART OF THIS STUPID BROTHERHOOD ANYMORE! I HATE ALL OF THIS!” She picked up her dagger and she threw it as hard as she could.

“Sally, please-”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT? PECAW WAS RIGHT! YOU DO SMELL REALLY BAD!”

Sally slapped Pierce across the face as hard as she could.

The next morning, Sally left to go back to her parents house. She could

have been the greatest hunter, or become the leader of the brotherhood. She could have done so many things. But she knew one thing. She couldn’t have done it without her beautiful feathered friend, named Pecaw.