A hen pecked herself with her beak and a little feather came out. She said merrily, “The more feathers I pluck, the more beautiful I’ll become.”
Her neighbour heard this and passed the word to her neighbour. An owl overheard the conversation and related the story to his neighbour adding a few more details himself.
The neighbour flew away to tell the doves, “There is a hen who has plucked her feathers to look good and get the cock’s attention.”
The doves spread the news further. Finally, the story was that five hens had killed each other for the sake of a cock.
Soon, it reached the first hen’s ears. Not realising that it was indeed her own story she passed on the exaggerated story to her neighbours.
In this way the story became very different from the original. There is no doubt; one little feather may easily grow into five hens!