Pharaoh Tuthmosis was returning from Syria after completing one of the crushing campaigns that extended his power and glory from the Nile Delta to the Euphrates River. As was the custom, the body of the vanquished king hung upside down on the prow of the flagship, and the entire fleet was filled with tribute and offerings. Among the gifts was a female bird never before seen, fat and ugly. The giver had delivered the unpresentable present himself: ‘Yes, yes,’ he confessed, eyes on the floor. ‘This bird is not beautiful. It does not sing. It has a blunt beak, a silly crest, and stupid eyes. And its wings of sad feathers have forgoten how to fly.’ The he swallowed. And he added, ‘But it sires a child a day.’ He opened a box where seven eggs lay. ‘Here are last week’s children.’ The eggs were submerged in boiling water. The pharaoh tasted them, peeled and dressed with a pinch of salt. The bird traveled in his chambers, laying by his side.
stem: eduardo galeano
perspectief: ‘alternative historiography merged with an urge to tell stories’
titel: origin of the hen
bron: mirrors, stories of almost everyone (2011, vert. mark fried)
mopw: meerstemmige encyclopedie