When He was in charge, each and every morning, very early, He’d swagger out of the barn, strut to the east facing fence, and like no cock ever before had ever manged to do – impossible as it may seem – this cock would jump to the lowest rail of the fence, gather Himself there briefly, and then, with a vigor never, ever before observed in a cock, jump again to the top rail of the fence. There He would remain, at the ready, for all to see and adore. It really was something to behold. Not one of the farm animals who came from far and wide, to gather below him in a swooning throng, had ever seen a cock quite like this cock. Especially the majesty of his wattle! A feature every cock used to lure mates, sure, but no cock anywhere has ever had a wattle as glamorous and shiny and alluring as this cock’s wattle. Not a Hen in the land could be found who didn’t want to titillate this cock’s wattle. There had never been a cock as beautiful as this cock, ever. All the plants and trees, even blades of grass, sun worshipers in the main, were seen to bend toward His orange glow instead. He really was something to behold, this cock. No one had ever seen a cock like Him, anywhere. There had never been a cock quite like this cock. He was big and beautiful and powerful as ever, this cock was.
And then, as he would do every morning, this cock, a cock the likes of which none of his adorers had ever seen before, to remind them all of his greatness as a cock, would raise his beak skyward and cock-a-doodle-do like no cock ever, anywhere has ever done before. And damn if the sun didn’t rise! For years the greatest cock ever did this every morning. Until, one day, he didn’t. It seemed the greatest and biggest cock ever had left the barn. Yet the sun kept coming up each morning. What’s up with that, the animals wondered.
Then one day, years later, the greatest cock ever known returned to the barn, such as it was. There were holes in the roof, quarters were in disarray, many animals had died or fallen sick since He’d left, and even the plants and trees were at war with invasive species. After He’d left, there was no one to replace the greatest cock ever known, no cock for the animals and trees and plants to adore. Times were tough, the animals bewildered. They feared the sun may never rise as high in the sky or shine as brightly as it had when the greatest cock ever known had perched on the fence and cock-a-doodle-doed, like no cock had ever done before. Ever.