One bright sunny morning in the chicken coop, Royal Rooster woke up the hens. He was the most recent "king" of the barnyard. He had just been purchased from the Poultry Auction and today was his first day on the job. Royal was proud because he had the longest tail feathers and a deeper crow than any rooster he had ever seen. He decided to preen his feathers on the fence post so that everyone could admire him.

Observing Royal Rooster pompously sitting on the fence for hours, Gertrude McCluck, the most exemplary, honorable and wisest hen in the farmyard, ambled to the fence and kindly told Royal Rooster what was expected of him. "You were purchased to guard the coop from the gluttonous skunk that devours our eggs."

"Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?" Royal Rooster conceitedly answered, "I'm the most valuable object on this farm."

"The last rooster ended up in the stew pot for not guarding the coop," entreated Gertrude. "Don't make the same mistake."

In the middle of the night, Royal Rooster pondered what Gertrude had said. He determined to show "those clucks" who was in charge. He worked up his deepest crow and cried, "Skunk! Skunk!" The hens quickly roused themselves and prepared to fight. Royal Rooster laughed and hollered, "Ha! Ha! Tricked you."

"If you're going to be so domineering, you won't be believed and we hens won't respond," Gertrude announced.

The next night, Royal Rooster called out a false alarm of "Skunk! Skunk!" Again, Gertrude warned him of the consequences. But, Royal Rooster paid no heed.

The third night, Royal Rooster did it again. Gertrude explained, "If we hens don't get our rest, there won't be any eggs to guard."

Three nights later in the middle of a storm, Royal Rooster was standing guard. He started. Something moved. Was there a dark shadow in the nest box? Royal gasped. There was a white stripe. It was Swindle Skunk with egg yoke streaming down his whiskers.

"Skunk! Skunk!" shrieked Royal. "There's a skunk in the coop!" Gertrude and the hens didn't even stir.

Puffing out his chest, Royal gave his "Generals" crow. Again, not one hen stirred.

The third time, he rose to full height, and gave the mightiest crow he had ever given. Gertrude woke. "To battle position!" she called. The hens fought their hardest and defeated the skunk. He slinked away and never came back.

In the morning, when the girl came out to gather eggs, none were to be had. Broken shells littered the floor. It was an astronomical catastrophe. Royal had sounded the call too late. The girl called to the house, "The new rooster didn't guard the coop!"

The answer returned, "Catch that rooster! We'll have chicken and noodles tonight." The girl grabbed Royal Rooster by his tail feathers. She carried him to the backyard where the butcher knives were ready.

So you see, the vain fall before the virtuous.