The next morning after the wedding, I was surprised to see Farmer Chen at the coop. I happened to be there delivering some chicken feed and he asked to see Bruce Lee. His face was grave and he clutched what looked like a letter in his hand.
When Bruce Lee came out, he said to him quietly, "I have some bad news about Ms. Penny."
"What? What happened? Is she sick?* gasped Bruce Lee, quite alarmed.
Farmer Chen drew in a deep breath, then said, "Last night, Mr. Cluck Cluck ran away and left her devastated, she's been crying the whole night...."
When Bruce Lee heard that, he became very upset and yelled, "That scoundrel! Wait till I get my hands on him!"
"He gave her this letter which she asked me to show you," continued Farmer Chen.
Bruce Lee took it from the old man's hand and started reading it aloud.
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| "Ms. Penny, I am sorry ......" |
"Ms. Penny, I am sorry but I cannot go through with it. It was all a mistake, I should not have married you. You see, I am tired of being cooped up at the coop, I want to go out and see the world but I know Bruce Lee will never let me go. So I thought if I married you, I would get a chance to leave the coop. I used you as a means to escape and I am truly sorry, please forgive me. Signed: Cluck Cluck."
Bruce Lee threw the letter on the ground and stomped on it in anger. "You bloody idiot, don't think you'll get away with this!" he raged.
Some of the hens had heard the commotion and they gathered round, some scolding Cluck Cluck. TL told them to go back inside and asked Bruce Lee to calm down.
"Let's settle this rationally," said TL. "There's no use scolding Cluck Cluck, he's young and hot headed and I can understand his feelings. But I am surprised he didn't run away on his own long ago...."
"He didn't have the guts," snorted Bruce Lee. "I should have seen this coming. Some time ago I overheard him telling one of the roosters that he planned to run away one day but I didn't think he would actually dare do it!"
Farmer Chen then interrupted. "Look, let's not cry over spilt milk. Ms. Penny has asked me if she could stay for a while at my farm as she is too ashamed to come back here lest the other hens laugh at her. I have no objection. What about you, Bruce Lee?"
Bruce Lee hesitated, then said, "Alright, but you make sure she comes to no harm!"
Farmer Chen nodded, then took his leave.
(It was then that I understood why Bruce Lee looked disturbed after the wedding. He had suddenly remembered what Cluck Cluck had said about running away and was afraid it might happen. And it did.)
Bruce Lee made it clear that he was not going to let the matter rest.
"I shall gather all the roosters and hunt him down!" he said, his face red with anger.
Thank goodness TL was quick to intervene.
"Look, don't waste your time, old friend," he said. "By now, he would have gone miles away. Let him be, it's his life, who knows he may regret it one day and come back to you."
Bruce Lee snorted again and after thinking for a while, said, "Alright, alright, I won't argue with you. I don't know why I should listen to you but I hope you're right, he needs to be taught a lesson!"
TL then put a wing gently round Bruce Lee like he was his father and led him back inside the coop. I'm so glad we have a sensible character like TL, he's always so wise and understanding and ready to pour oil on troubled waters!
Fortunately the story has a happy ending. After Ms. Penny had spent a couple of weeks at Farmer Chen's farm, a middle aged rooster fell in love with her and wooed her until she agreed to marry him. However, she asked to remain at the farm with her new husband to which Bruce Lee reluctantly agreed.
So all's well that ends well.
Recently, Head Nun broached again the idea of giving away Bruce Lee and all the hens and roosters to Farmer Chen as she felt he could handle them better. The idea sounded a practical one but then who's going to wake us up every morning after Bruce Lee is gone?
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