Mr. Rashed was a very polite man. Polite to the extent that even while ordering tea he would say, "If the sugar doesn't mind, please add one spoon." But behind this politeness, he had one major weakness—he was too serious about everything.
One morning, Mr. Rashed went to the market with a list in his pocket: potatoes, onions, lentils, and "one good chicken." As soon as he entered the market, he felt like all the chickens were staring at him, as if saying,
"Take me! I'm the best!"
Decision-making was not his strong point. So he stood there, staring back at the chickens, one by one. Finally, he chose a healthy, fat chicken.
He said,
"Brother, give me this one."
As soon as the butcher picked it up, the chicken screamed,
"Cock-a-cock-a-cock!"
Mr. Rashed jumped in shock. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He asked,
"Brother… does this chicken have a mask?"
The butcher stared at him, mouth wide open.
"A mask?!"
"Yes, I mean… for safety. This chicken is making too much noise."
Someone nearby whispered,
"I think he wants a COVID test for the chicken."
The whole market burst into laughter.
Trying to save face, Mr. Rashed said,
"No, no, I'm serious. You never know these days."
The butcher replied,
"Alright then, I'll give you a free mask."
He grabbed an old piece of cloth and tied it around the chicken's mouth. The chicken now looked like a tiny robber.
Mr. Rashed happily paid and got on a rickshaw with the chicken.
As the rickshaw started moving, the chicken suddenly removed the mask and began screaming again. The rickshaw puller panicked and shouted,
"Hey! What do you have in your bag?!"
The chicken started jumping all over the rickshaw. The puller slammed the brakes and yelled,
"Get down! I don't carry ghosts or wild creatures!"
Just then, a police officer passed by and asked,
"What's going on here?"
Mr. Rashed calmly replied,
"Nothing, officer. My chicken is just excited."
The officer opened the bag and saw a maskless chicken.
He said,
"Why is it outside without a mask?"
Mr. Rashed lowered his head and said,
"It took it off, sir… it's a chicken after all."
The officer paused for a second—then burst out laughing. Soon, the entire street was filled with laughter.
That day, Mr. Rashed returned home thinking,
"Being polite is good… but being too serious with a chicken is not."
From that day on, he followed one simple rule:
"I'll buy chickens—but I won't make eye contact with them!" 😆🐔