A hawk gave birth to a son, and the hen was her midwife. When the hawk was recovered enough to go forage for food, she said to the hen, "Take care of my son! I'll be back soon."
But when the hawk did not come back, the hen grew impatient and killed the young hawk.
When the hawk came home and found her young one dead, she was furious. "I curse all chickens!" she shouted. "From this day forward, anyone who is my offspring will kill the young ones of the hen because this hen has killed my young one."
[a story from Madagascar]
Inspired by: "The Hawk and the Hen" in Oratory, Songs, Legends, and Folktales of the Malagasy (published in Folklore) by James Sibree, Jr., 1883.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The hawk and the hen fight in the original story, and it says they were "equal in strength" but does not explain more about that, so I left it out.
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