Once there was a nest on a branch in a tree. There were four eggs in the nest.

The oldest egg hatched during the day. It was hot. The hatched chick ventured out of the nest but scurried quickly back in. The youngest egg asked, “How is it out there?” “It is hot! Hot enough to burn your feathers,” the hatched chick replied. “Then I won’t hatch,” the youngest egg said and squeezed inside the shell. The hatched chick waited for the weather to cool down a little. It was still hot but it could not stay in the nest forever. So, it flew away hesitatingly.

When the second egg hatched, it was cold and raining. The hatched chick ventured out of the nest but scurried quickly back in. “How is it out there?” the youngest egg asked the second chick. “It is wet. Rain-drops hit you like cold stones,” the chick replied. “Then I won’t hatch,” the youngest egg said and squeezed inside the shell. The hatched chick waited for the rain to subside. It was still drizzling but it could not stay in the nest forever. So, it flew away hesitatingly.

The third egg hatched during the night. It ventured out of the nest but could not see and stumbled back to the nest. The youngest egg asked again, “How is it out there?” The chick replied, “It is dark. You can hardly see your beak.” “Then I won’t hatch,” the fourth egg said and squeezed inside the shell. The newly hatched chick waited for the morning break but it was getting hungry. So it flew away hesitatingly well before the sunrise to look for some worms.

The last chick inside the shell was getting too large for it to accommodate. It began to feel cramped. There were no more eggs left to chat with either. So, it also began to feel lonely. It had to hatch. When it did, it was a sunny spring morning. The chick flew around all day and spotted many worms. It returned to the nest at sunset with its stomach full, and slept whole night. In the morning, the chick awoke and sang, “It’s beautiful world out there,” and flew away.

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