h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

No, not what *you* think. Get your mind out of the gutter...

...and back to our cozy little farm. You know the one, where the one-eyed man on a one-eyed horse, with stirrup leathers of linden bark, wooden stirrups, and spurs of hawthorn rode up and asked for the man of the house...

Well, our man the peasant on his way back from court now, greatly relieved to have kept his head on his shoulders because the judge showed leniency. He walks into the farmyard, and sees, on the ground, the severed head of a chicken - a chicken with *horns*.

Now, what does *that* tell him?

the Devil's in the detail (or the cock soup?)

That it had just hatched

Oh dear - two s

for "devil" and "egg tooth", which is, I assume, what you were getting at, Bob.

No, these are two horns, growing on its head.

But Robyn does get points for "soup" - yes, it's an indication that there will be chicken for dinner. (Probably to celebrate.)

Why the horns, though?

Because it's really a cockatrice (why not play with these klaxons while I'm here, eh? ) not a chicken?

Just egg tooth thanks my guess was nothing to do with the devil Pharrrp

Hmmm, I klaxoned "basilisk" but not "cockatrice". Who votes to let her escape?

(The was mentioned by Robyn, Bob, not you.)

Of course I escape. Seperate creatures entirely. That'd be like mixing up a pegasus and a unicorn!

Pfaw!

Ok...

The horns are significant... Is the placement significant? (i.e. it being on the floor in the yard?)

But the dictionary says "Another name for the fabulous and deadly reptilian monster known as the basilisk."

It's more important that our chickie is dead than that it's dead in this particular spot. You might as well feed the head to the dog; we don't need it anymore. (Except to ascertain that yes, indeedy, the horns are firmly attached, and not with glue, either!)

A dead horned decapitated chick...

Does it indicate that the mafia are particularly inept and childish in this area?

seriously though...

Does it have to do with having escaped narrowly a certain fate?

*Escaped* its fate? (You narrowly escaped yours - I'd thought of klaxoning "mafia", but didn't.)

This specific member of the species Gallus gallus domesticus is no more! It has ceased to be!

...Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile´! THIS IS AN EX-CHICKEN!

Er, sorry.

No no, you have escaped a certain fate (i.e. you have returned and narrowly missed a rather nastier future...)

Sorry, no. For you, it just means chicken is what's for dinner.

so...

Does it tell the peasant that he has been visited by a certain type of creature/thing?

Clearly, someone killed your rare horned chicken. The wanted to get back at you, don't ask me what for, but at least you have the rest of chicken to eat tonight.

mini

Creature/thing? Playing it safe now?

It tells the peasant there's chicken for dinner. He's quite happy about this.

he just lost the cock fighting championship

cocks had spurs tied to their feet to make them more deadly in the fighting pit

the original post did not say the horns were on the head just that the chicken had horns and the chicken was be headed

Oooooh dear, "cock fighting" is another !

The horns are on its head, where the comb should be.

The heaviest flying bird is the hornbill. Which has a horny bill, but no horns, and lives in Africa.

It's not a hornbill. It's quite definitely Gallus gallus domesticus, and one formerly residing with a European peasant, at that.