We were entertained during our last day at Sapana lodge in Chitwan to see a peacock chasing a chicken around the grounds. The peacock was quite beautiful, but we were perplexed as to it's preoccupation with the chicken. Durgar, the manager of the lodge explained the story: it is a more exotic version of the tale of the ugly duckling. A large abandoned peacock egg was found on a jungle walk one day, and brought back to the lodge by the guide. This egg was added to a batch of chicken's eggs in a nest. In time the egg hatched, along with all the chicks. The peacock hasn't yet had the epiphany that the swan had in Hans Christian Anderson's tale, but surely it must only be a matter of time....
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