Legendary Riddle: Why did the chicken cross the street?

This was a first. Not the first time that Lauren had caught her neighbor’s chicken and taken it home, but the first for where she caught it. Lauren, my city loving, non-country living daughter has a backyard neighbor with a chicken coop and one escape-artist chicken. That chicken somehow made it over the fence into Lauren’s yard several weeks ago and had to be caught, quite willingly, and delivered home. Lauren is a believer that farm animals belong in the country and not living on the busy 1300 East in Sandy, Utah, but that’s not her suburban neighborhood layout where she and her sister, Maranda live with their two dogs, Milo and Mandolin. Friday, after finishing work, Lauren relaxed in her room, having left the back sliding glass door ajar for the dogs to freely run in and out into the fenced backyard. Maranda, also done with work, was in her room. They were both startled by a shrieking noise and the dogs barking in the living room. They rushed to the living room thinking that maybe Milo was stuck behind the couch again. What they found was "a first"—the neighbor’s chicken hiding under the couch while the dogs excitedly ran around it. Lauren caught the scared, yet willing, chicken. Finding it unharmed, although missing a few tail feathers, she carried it back home. The chicken-keeping neighbor was gone, like the first time, so Lauren returned the escape artist to its coop—again. Once home, Lauren swept the loose feathers scattered in the living room.Then she called us to share the adventure. 

"Why does a chicken cross the street?" That riddle appeared in an 1847 edition of The Knickerbocker, a New York City magazine. Americas have been asking and answering variations of that riddle for over 150 years, but now our family asks, "Why did the chicken go in the back door? And, really, how did the chicken get in the living room and under the couch? We shared amusing thoughts over that mystery during our family Zoom gathering on Sunday, but found no definitive answers. Chickens don’t fly, generally, but this one has twice flown over a six -foot fence and made it into a downhill yard. Google states that although chickens don’t fly well, some breeds can manage flights up to ten feet. That important ability could explain the fence and getting up the nine steps from the grass onto the back deck. I’ve never seen a chicken hop up stairs, which may be possible, but not as likely as flying up the stairs. Yet, if this very athletic chicken wanted to fly, why go up onto the deck? Why go into the house? I inquired as to the possibility that the dogs, specifically the bird-killing Mandolin, could have taken the chicken by the neck and carried it inside. Lauren threw out that theory stating that the chicken was completely dry, no dog slobber on it—which she personally knew. 

Can a chicken be athletic and curious? Was it just terrified by being chased? Yet, if the dogs were chasing it, why would the chicken go inside a house after just escaping the coop again? We’d all be riveted on the actual footage of this chicken's adventure, including the shocked faces of Lauren and Maranda—priceless. We anticipate the fulfillment of the truth that, "all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been" (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 27:11) What do you name such a chicken? After all, such a repeat visitor should be named. I suggested “Houdini” after Harry Houdini, the great escape stuntman. Then Bret suggested “Hei Hei” after the unintelligent rooster in the Disney movie “Moana.” Hei Hei seemed the right name since this chicken is gentle, far from the aggressive chickens we’ve encountered. Is this chicken really smart and curious or rather dumb? Unanswered questions make life's journey more intriguing. This may remain one of our family’s unsolved riddles, but this chicken will also remain Legendary!