The chicken Kiki loved her little chick Kuku and cared for him. Kuku loved her very much and followed her in every step, imitating her and learning from her. He would scratch the ground like her, flutter his small wings if she fluttered, and tried to know everything his mother Kiki knew.
One day, the chicken Kiki went out with her little one, and they wandered through the fields until they reached a large mulberry tree. Fresh mulberries were falling from the tree, so Kiki started picking up the mulberries from the ground.
The mulberries were delicious, so Kiki picked up all the berries she found, and her chick Kuku did the same. Kiki’s beak was large and her throat wide, so she could swallow the large berries easily. But Kuku was still small, his beak small and his throat small.
Kuku picked up a large berry like his mother did, but unfortunately it got stuck in his throat. Kuku screamed in pain and almost choked, falling to the ground. Kiki hurried to save her chick. She went quickly to the stream of water and said to it: How are you, oh gentle stream? The stream answered: I’m fine, but why are you so eager? Come drink from my water. The chicken said to him: But my little chick Kuku has a berry stuck in his throat, and I want to get him some water to drink so the berry goes down to his stomach.
The stream said to her: Go get a nut from that tree and put water in it for your chick. The chicken hurried to the walnut tree and said to her: How are you, oh walnut tree? Can I take a walnut fruit from you to put water in and save my little one?
The tree said to her with all pleasure: Oh chicken, but my fruits are hard and you won’t be able to break them yourself. Go to that girl running there, perhaps she can help you. The chicken hurried to the girl Suad and told her the story. Suad said to her: I will help you, but I don’t have shoes, and I fear thorns will hurt my feet.
The chicken hurried to the shoemaker and told him the story. He said to her: Here is the shoe, but I need socks to protect me from the winter cold. The chicken hurried to her friend the sheep and told him the story. He said to her: Here is the wool, I have a lot of it, but I’m hungry and need food.
The chicken hurried to the farmer and asked him for beans. The farmer gave her the beans but asked her for a lock for the grain storage. The chicken hurried to the blacksmith and asked him for coal. He gave her the coal but asked her to bring him coal to light the fire.
The chicken hurried to the charcoal seller and asked him for coal. He told her he wanted some feathers to make a fan. The chicken said to the charcoal seller: I will give you what you need of feathers, but I will go first to bring water for my chick Kuku, then I will return to you.
The chicken went to Kuku and gave him water. The berry slipped from his throat. Kuku got up and started fluttering his wings again. Kiki was happy for the survival of her chick. Then she went to the charcoal seller and took the feathers from her wings. Then she returned to her chick Kuku. When Kuku saw her, he asked: Where is your beautiful feather, mother? The chicken told him what had happened.
Kuku said to her: And how can you give up your feather, mother, that warms you, just as you fluff it and flutter with it? The chicken said: It was necessary to pay the price to save you. Kuku said to her: And you, mother, what do you ask of me in exchange for saving my life? The chicken said: Enough, Kuku, that I see you safe and sound, that is my happiness. Kuku learned that everything in this world has a price except a mother’s tenderness. Kuku clung to his mother and started kissing her with his tender beak to express his love and gratitude.