The more novel and fascinating things are in the world, the more people love them. An ordinary hen always has a chance to become a phoenix, and even weeds can turn into miraculous medicine.
This little hen would invite all the birds and beasts of the forest to witness her egg-laying every time, naturally using the occasion to boast about how unique and beautiful her eggs were. As the morning sun rose, several "cock-a-doodle-doo" calls echoed from the little hen's nest.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! You've all been waiting long enough!" The little hen cheerfully emerged from her nest, only to find an oval-shaped oddity lying right before her feet. The object was angular and multifaceted; when light struck it, the white rays scattered into dazzling, rainbow-colored brilliance so intense that no one could bear to look directly at it.
"What is this thing? It's blinding my eyes!" A young sparrow hawk crouched on a tree branch, shielding its eyes with its wings and peering through the feathers.
"This is obviously a diamond egg! I'm the only chicken in the world who can lay diamond eggs—how impressive is that?" Seeing that everyone avoided looking straight at her egg, the little hen flapped her wings proudly and began clucking loudly.
Crows love shiny things most of all, and among the birds, only the crow dared to stare wide-eyed at the strange object. He praised, "What a magnificent egg! Truly a rare treasure. After traveling the world for years, I've never seen such a large diamond!"
Pleased by the praise, the little hen sweetly invited the crow closer to examine her precious gem.
A young, naive sparrow pointed at the egg-shaped diamond and asked, "Auntie Hen, can this diamond egg hatch a chick?"
This question left the little hen utterly speechless. All along, she had prided herself on the rarity of her diamond eggs, but never once considered whether they could actually hatch chicks. Since ancient times, laying and incubating eggs has been a fundamental maternal duty and a crucial part of reproduction. The hen had never imagined her diamond eggs might produce offspring, yet this crystal-clear egg looked nothing like something that could contain life. Now anxious inside but unwilling to lose face, she carefully carried the diamond egg back into her nest. Before leaving, she told the others to give her some time to incubate it—perhaps, she suggested, a "diamond chick" might hatch after all.
So much time passed that eventually, unable to contain his curiosity, the crow came to check on the little hen to see if her hatching had succeeded. But as he approached the nest, a strong stench of rotting flesh hit his nose. Being fond of carrion, the crow’s appetite was instantly awakened. He quickly flew deep into the nest, and by dim light, discovered that the little hen had been dead for quite some time. Beneath her belly lay about five or six diamond eggs, completely uncracked.
Now seeing a pile of fresh carrion before him, the crow disregarded any sense of neighborly relations and gorged himself until his belly was full. Before long, the poor little hen was reduced to nothing but a pile of bones, while the greedy crow carried away her diamond eggs, one by one, out of the nest.