A farmer once took an egg from an eagle's nest. He took it home and placed it under one of his hens and it hatched with a little brood of chickens. The farmer raised the bird with great patience and attempted to tame him. The eagle never really seemed to fit in with the chickens. It always walked alone; it could not seem to relate to or interact with the chickens.

As the eagle grew, he realised something seemed to be wrong deep inside of him. Even though he had never known any other existence but life in the chicken yard, it just did not feel like home to him. He wanted to leave the chicken yard and take to the skies. He even tried to do so, and the farmer finally had to clip the eagle's wings to keep him from flying away.

Since the eagle could not fly, he just sat in the chicken yard looking up at the sky. One day a storm began to brew, the sky grew dark, and all the barnyard animals scurried around for cover; the chickens were terribly frightened, as chickens are prone to be. The eagle sat watching the scene in front of him, realising the storm did not frighten him in the least.

At that moment, he could not help but stretch out his wings, and as he did, he noticed that the farmer had failed to keep them clipped. Suddenly, his eye caught sight of a great eagle riding the wind above him, his wings outstretched in majestic form.

The eagle that was raised as a chicken looked again at the chickens scurrying around frantically, then returned his gaze to the eagle soaring peacefully above him, then looked back at the chickens and then up at the eagle again. He heard the eagle let out an awesome, piercing cry. In that instant, he knew he had to get out of the chicken yard! A mighty gust of wind swept beneath his outstretched wings and lifted him into the air. With a shrill scream of victory and freedom, he left the barnyard forever.


- excerpt from "Never Give Up!" by Joyce Meyer