Once there was a wealthy goose, the origin of the goose’s wealth being unknown. Some say the goose worked hard, others talk as if all geese have a wealthy lineage, but the history of the goose is for another tale. For as the legend goes, the goose sought out the expertise of the most skilled hen and offered her the resources she needed for a bakery. The simple reasons for the gooses generosity were pleasure. The goose longed for and desired the sweetest bread in the world, as geese do often love bread. But in the legend, as to be expected, not all connoisseurs can craft what they enjoy, and unfortunately this goose lacked the ability to bake. The hen, unknowing of the fate that awaited her with the goose, had a content and unfilled life as a chef. She was commonly known for her cooking, and gained fame for her bread. After all, everyone knows the story of the little red hen!
As the head chef and baker for only the fattest of pigs, the hen gained her reputation as a renowned artisan. In those arrangements, she was never able to keep her recipes. The hen traveled to and fro across the lands in service of one pig or another. The paranoid pig clans of the realm never trusted each other, and they only wanted the tasty food the hen cooked for themselves. After eating a meal, they forced the hen to give them her written recipes, stating that it’s only a fair part of the meal. Those pigs, unsurprisingly, couldn’t get enough food to satisfy themselves and they didn’t want to share what they learned from the hen! Despite the lopsided arrangement, the hen was clever enough that she always made even better food each time. The hen could always make new recipes, even though it seemed silly to her that she couldn’t keep the ones she liked. At any rate, the hen enjoyed her craft more than convincing the pigs, and changing the ways of the pigs only wasted time. The pigs controlled all the food supplies, and if the hen wanted to keep cooking, then she had to keep the pigs happy. Thus the cycle continued. Each paranoid pig challenged her to become an even better chef as they demanded more food. When one pig grew bored, another pig took its place. And while becoming better made the hen feel content, she felt unfulfilled due to the way in which she grew.
Meanwhile, the goose, not knowing the hen personally, pleaded with a frog for help and hoped that in the frog’s journey of the ocean and the pond, the frog could be a guide. Luckily for the goose, the frog knew that cats, in all their tricks and jokes, might know who makes bread. The cat bragged about stealing a dog’s bone, and recounted how she barely got away due to the dog’s dedicated nose. The goose knew that the dog’s sense of smell remembers any scent. Immediately, the goose and the dog followed the bread smells to a bat. After a long quest, the goose finally found the bread of the hen within the cave of the bat. The bat, feeling full from finishing another fat slice of bread, knew exactly where the hen lived. The bat could fly quickly, and knew everyone in the land. The goose got directions to the the hen, thanked the bat and the dog, and left in the morning.
On the way to the hen, the goose met a swan. The swan, recounting to the goose, had a similar journey in search of the hen. They both laughed while thinking about the amazing bread they felt was within their grasp. The swan knew the story of the hen, but also knew that the hen had poor working conditions with the pigs. Graced by the ideas of the swan, the goose made an offer to the swan. The goose would provide the wheat, the flour, and the bakery, but the swan, being the more charismatic of the two, would convince the hen to bake bread for them. The swan, considering the proposition, realized that the hen would be even better if she had the rights to her recipe, so that the hen didn’t feel trapped in the arrangement. The goose, agreeing, stated, “As long as we get to eat bread, the three of us that is, I see every reason that the Hen keep her recipe.” After all, both the swan and the goose knew that if the Hen were fulfilled, the bread she made would be even better!
Some time later, the goose and the swan arrived at the hen’s house. She explained that while she enjoyed making bread, as it brought her enjoyment, she wasn’t content with being part of the daily, and sometimes hourly, competitions of the pig clans. The pigs would make hens compete with each other in cooking and baking competitions. At times, there would be so much food that not even the pigs would eat it all! How wasteful and repulsive, the hen thought to herself. And how nice it would be if she could make bread for the entire land, without needing to participate in the savage and sloppy behavior of her current food suppliers. The hen explained that only pigs cared that much about food, and only to consume it. At this point, seeing that the hen really only wanted to produce the best food, the swan made the offer that the goose agreed to earlier.
At this point, the legends diverge about this story. The hen doesn’t always trust the swan. When the swan does, sometimes the pig clans discover and imprison the hen for leaving their service. Sometimes the swan and the goose free the hen. Yet, at other times, the goose and the swan fail and even lose their freedom for attempting to assist the hen. The happiest versions of this story work out as you might expect. Everyone could live happily ever after, even the pigs.
The legend diverges drastically because we haven’t decided yet what happens to the hens of the world. We haven’t agreed that when hens work with pigs, hens own the rights to their recipes. We’re still writing this legend. Unfortunate hens lose their recipes to powerful pigs. Fortunate hens win their recipes because they know equally powerful swans and geese.
In this story, the legend ends without a clear ending, but here’s what we think might happen. The goose, the swan, and the hen agree to work together. They make bread for those that want it, and they try not to challenge the pig clans too much. They even agree to make food for the pig clans to keep them satisfied and friendly. As they start their new agreements, they become a popular bird trio known for their 5-star culinary expertise. After some time, the bird trio begins working with other artisans, and they slowly invert the rules benefiting the pig clans and other clans like them. The rules work for their community instead. The hen never fully feels fulfilled, but she finds fulfillment in the community that supports her. Similarly, the goose and the swan find fulfilling moments in their love of novelty. And finally, the community surrounding the bird trio prospers.