Gertrude McCluck was your typical chicken — that was until one summer; the story starts like this.

Gertrude woke up one morning and went on his morning stroll around the coop. He was about to turn when he saw it: the large egg (much bigger than a chicken's egg). Gertrude was not a female chicken but couldn't let it sit out here. So he rolled it back to his nest, which took a very long time because Gertrude didn't want to crack the egg or hurt the chick inside — whatever kind of chick it was. Two days after Gertrude found the egg, he decided its name would be Egger.

Soon more days passed, then weeks. (Gertrude was sleeping most of the time.) Soon a month and 14 or 15 days had passed. Gertrude was sleeping, then he heard a little crack, then a little push on his under feathers! Gertrude was so startled he jumped off his nest. Then he turned around and looked at the chick that hatched. It had long legs and a long neck but what really caught his eye was Egger's eyes. It was like someone had lit a blazing electric fire in them.

Days and months passed. Soon Egger could walk and talk (not to mention run) and was very smart. One day he asked Gertrude, "Can we go find my mother and father?"

"Well," Gertrude said as he looked down into Egger's pleading electric eyes, "ok, we leave tomorrow."

The next day, as they reached the safari, they saw millions of ostriches. A couple walked by. One had the same eyes as egger, and the other had the same diamond-shaped mark on its head. Egger's eyes lit up "Mother!!" he cried, "Father!!" Egger's father turned around and called back, "Egger!" After they were settled in their huge nest Egger's mother and father had made, Stream (Egger's mother) said, "you must tell us everything about your life." So Egger told them everything about his life (that he knew), and they told him everything about theirs. When this was done Egger asked, "Can Gertrude live with us?"

"Only if he wants to," replied Bolder (Egger's father). Gertrude looked at both of these pleading green eyes and said, "How could I say no?" Then they all curled up and slept.

So if you see a male chicken and three ostriches you'll know it's Gertrude McCluck!