Once there was a turkey
Among a gaggle of his peers
They had been penned up together
For many many years.
And every thanksgiving
The panic it began
As the turkeys tried to find a way
To avoid the farmer’s plan
“It’s so unfair!”
Gobbled one bird, “I really am confused,”
“How could a man take care of us,”
“With these thoughts, there’s no excuse.”
Another one said, “Hey there bird,”
There’s no need to complain,
“I feel a great big storm a-comin’”
“We’ll hide out in the rain.”
Then there appeared a sly old fox
Whose words were very slick
And frankly when he came around,
It made one turkey sick.
“There’s that fox,” He’d say to himself
“I wonder what he needs,
He’s always up to something
He’s mischievous in his deeds.”
“Hello fowl!” Said the smooth fox
There was a twinkle in his eye
“I think I have a greater plan,
To save you from turkey pot pie.”
“I know where the famer keeps his gun
And if you trust me here,
We can craft a master plan,
To make the farmer disappear.”
This turkey thought, “We’ll harm the man!
This can’t be what is right,
I cannot do what is not good
I must put up a fight!”
“NO!” He screamed, He scared himself
And all the turkeys stared
“We must always do the moral thing
No matter if we’re scared.”
“Hogwash!” said the sly old fox
Are you listening to this bird
He’s suggesting that you accept defeat
With each and every word.”
The turkeys scowled, they shut him out
And they plotted, and they schemed,
“If he was willing to do it to us,
He’s more evil than we dreamed.”
And so the fox helped make their plans
And bravely walked away,
But no one knew that he had a plan
For later on that day.
The turkey overheard him say
To all his foxy friends,
“Tonight they’ll be together,
And so our long wait ends.”
“They will not all be hiding,
Just like they always do
And so there will be a lot of turkey
For you and you and you.”
“Oh no!” the turkey shuttered,
I knew this was a trick
That fox is always up to something
Deceitful, something slick.”
“I have to warn them, but how” he thought
“I’m not sure they see the end
That if they harm the farmer
There will be no one to defend
Against the evil plans of
The den of foxes who
Will then attack the gaggle
And probably others too.”
So the turkey tried to tell them,
But they would not agree,
“You just don’t like the very thought,
Of us all being free.”
They said, “You may like the farm
And the farmer and his stable,
But we are all unwilling to
Be the next meal on his table.”
The turkey thought and thought and thought
About what he should do
And then it finally came to him
“Tonight, I’ll be there too”
“I will stand up for was is right
No matter what their mood,
And I will sacrifice myself
That will be my attitude.”
And so the evening did unfold,
And the turkey’s plans weren’t stopped,
And the foxes stood by waiting
And licking their big chops
And as the other turkeys saw
The farmer closing in,
They took their aim and took a breath
For it was their time to win.
When suddenly the turkey hero
Jumped in to their site
And the gun went off, and suddenly
There was the silence of the night.
The farmer saw the fallen bird
And the smoking gun,
And he saw the foxes in the field
The cowards on the run.
He held the bird and realized
That his life had just been saved
And that this bird had done an amazing thing
To keep him from the grave.
He cradled the bird in his arms,
And suddenly he left,
For the turkey, he was still alive
He took in a giant breath.
So the farmer nursed the bird to health
And placed him in a pen
Where he could never be hurt or frightened
By the fox ever again.
And as for the other birds,
They were all safe too
And let’s just say from that day on,
The farmer prepared Fox stew.
Now the morale of this little tale
Is easily understood
That integrity affects the way
That you view bad from good
And if you live your life in such a way
That you always do what’s right
Our God who sacrificed His son
Will surely win your fight.
So this thanksgiving let’s do our best
To thank Christ for the price he paid
For we all just a gaggle
Of Turkey’s needing to be saved.
Happy Thanksgiving!