A Thoughtful Tale

 (This story was adapted from one that ran on Quora.)

One day, everyone's possessions disappeared.

No one had anything, including food...and people soon were hungry.

Three days later, God gave everyone a chicken.

The first group was overjoyed. They immediately killed and cooked the chickens -- then threw a party. Other people could not decide what to do at first. When they saw the fat and happy expressions of the people who had killed their chickens right away, they did the same thing. 

Another group was also hungry. But when some realized their chicken was a hen, they gritted their teeth and endured the hunger pains until the hen laid an egg. It wasn't enough for full stomachs, but the hen laid an egg every day after that -- so they didn't starve, either. 

Others had a rooster. They endured their hunger long enough to hire the rooster out to wake everyone up to feed the hens daily, as well as fertilize the eggs. In return, they got some egg to eat, plus a few chicks to raise. They also made a group deal; every once in a while, a non-necessary rooster was sacrificed, so everyone could have a taste of the meat. This kept the group healthier while the chickens continued to thrive.

So life went on.

The first group of people, as well as those who'd decided to follow their lead, were hungry. Why hadn't God given them more chickens??

The second group ate their eggs, going without just enough to mate the hens and roosters and raise chicks. (The occasional feast of chicken meat helped, too.) In time those chicks grew up, and the second group had a fine flock -- plus roast chicken every now and then, when the hens and roosters were too old to do their part.

    Eventually the flock grew too big to manage. Then the second group approached the first, who by now were skinny with hunger, and hired them to help with the chickens -- in return for an egg a day.  

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In time, some of the first group grew tired of this 'inequality,' and prayed, "Oh God please take away everyone's property -- so life will be fair again." God answered their prayers, took everything away...then gave each person a chicken on the third day.

And the cycle began again.