Floods 10 by Colin Thompson

– a chicken.
Jar 7 – a chicken.
Jar 8 – a chicken.
Jar 9 – a chicken.
Jar 10 – a chicken.
Jar 11 – a chicken.
Jar 12 – a chicken.
Jar 13 – a chicken.
Jar 14 – another chicken.
    â€˜You seem a little disappointed,’ said Ethel, ‘but you can’t say I didn’t warn you.’
    â€˜It’s all right,’ said Winchflat, realising hischances of a Nobel Prize for Serious Cleverness were probably fairly remote now.
    â€˜Look on the bright side,’ said Ethel. ‘You are the first person ever to have created life from ancient fossilised DNA. All fifteen of us are perfect in every detail and yet we are all subtly different in our own ways. I mean, look, Brenda over there is very dark brown whereas Brenda over here, like me, is a rich golden caramel colour.’
    â€˜Are they both called Brenda?’ said Winchflat.
    â€˜We all are,’ said another chicken. ‘Except our glorious leader, Ethel.’
    â€˜Who is called Ethel,’ said another Brenda.
    â€˜Right,’ said Winchflat.
    â€˜Come on, cheer up,’ said a Brenda. ‘You can have lovely fresh eggs for breakfast every day.’
    â€˜Tell me something,’ said Winchflat, ‘this talking thing. Can you all do it?’
    â€˜What do you mean?’ said Ethel.
    â€˜Can every one of you speak?’
    â€˜Well, of course we can,’ said Ethel. ‘I don’t understand.’
    Winchflat explained that chickens as he knew them couldn’t speak or communicate with any other species. Nor could dogs or cats or any other animals.
    â€˜Well, that’s your evolution for you, isn’t it?’ Ethel explained. ‘You see, when we were originally alive all animals could talk right, down to the smallest mouse.’
    â€˜Insects could, too,’ said a Brenda, ‘but they were so quiet no one could understand them.’
    â€˜Except other insects,’ said another Brenda.
    â€˜I think it was the talking that made us all extinct,’ said Ethel. ‘Every species argued with each other and the arguments led to fights and the bigger animals killed the smaller ones until there were only a few very huge dinosaurs left and unfortunately they were not vegetarians so they starved to death. Obviously Mother Nature realised what an enormous stuff-up she’d made so she started again, but made sure no one could speak any more.’
    â€˜Except humans,’ said Winchflat, ‘and wizards.’
    â€˜Yes, so it would seem,’ said Ethel. ‘I wonder why?’
    â€˜Probably to compensate for their lack of wings or claws or beaks,’ said a Brenda. ‘And the fact they can’t run very fast.’
    â€˜Or swim under water,’ said another.
    â€˜Or build nests,’ said a third.
    â€˜Or hear very well.’
    â€˜Or see in the dark.’
    â€˜Yes, thank you,’ said Winchflat.
    â€˜They’re right, though,’ said Ethel, ‘You have to wonder why Mother Nature created humans at all.’
    Winchflat had to admit that when he thought about it, humans would be a lot better if they couldn’t talk. There certainly would have been a lot fewer wars and killing if they couldn’t, and far fewer stupid reality shows on TV.
    â€˜Well, maybe humans will make themselves extinct,’ said Ethel, ‘so there’ll just be wizards and chickens left to run the world.’
    Winchflat also had to admit that was sort of a kind of nice daydream, maybe, perhaps.
    â€˜Tell me,’ said Ethel. ‘Is this place still called Transylvania Waters?’
    â€˜It is indeed,’ said Winchflat. ‘That’s amazing. I thought my forefathers, the first wizards who came here, gave it that name.’
    â€˜No, it has had that name since the dawn of time, when we were rulers of this land,’ said Ethel.
    â€˜You were in charge of Transylvania Waters?’ said Winchflat.
    â€˜Not so