The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly
SynopsisPlot
This is the story of a hen named Sprout. No longer content to lay eggs on command, only to have them carted off to the market, she glimpses her future every morning through the barn doors, where the other animals roam free, and comes up with a plan to escape into the wild—and to hatch an egg of her own.
Story
About this book
Sprout is a hen on a farm in South Korea who lays eggs each day, only to watch them taken away by the farmer's wife. From inside her cage she can see the barnyard through the doors, where other animals move freely, and she begins to form a plan. She gives herself the name Sprout, a word tied to growth and new life, and decides to break free from the routine that defines her existence.
Once outside, Sprout finds that the barnyard animals reject her. Her one companion is a mallard duck called Straggler, himself an outsider. With his help, she discovers an egg in a briar patch and settles down to hatch it. What emerges is not a chick but a duckling, and Sprout raises it as her own. The story follows her experience of parenthood across the distance between what she expected and what she received, exploring the bonds that form between unlike creatures and the sacrifices involved in caring for the young.
Originally published in South Korea, where it became a bestseller with two million copies sold, the book is illustrated with line drawings by the Japanese artist Nomoco. It is a short, fable-like novel told in plain language.
