The Python's Egg

A Python laid a single, large egg and left it in a warm place to hatch. A Hen, whose own eggs had been eaten by a mongoose, found the python's egg and, in her sorrow, decided to sit on it and care for it as her own. She sat on it for many weeks. When the egg hatched, a small python emerged and looked at the Hen as its mother. The Hen raised the python alongside her chicks. The young python learned to cluck and scratch in the dirt, and it protected the chicks from harm. The other chickens were afraid, but the Hen insisted it was her child. One day, a great eagle swooped down to attack the Hen. The young python, seeing its mother in danger, instinctively coiled itself around the eagle, saving her life. The Hen had shown kindness to the child of her enemy, and in return, that child became her greatest protector. The story is told to teach that motherhood is an act of the heart, not just of the blood, and that an act of unexpected kindness can overturn the natural order of enemies.