It all began during the holidays many years ago after a visit to his auntie’s place.
Being a hard-working boy, Denis had helped in doing household chores and his aunt in appreciation had given him a freshly laid egg.
After putting the egg carefully in a paper bag and saying goodbye, Denis walked back to his home.
It wasn’t his real home, for Denis was an orphan. His father and mother had passed away when he was still very young and was now staying with his grandmother.
When he reached there, he showed her the egg and she asked him if she could cook it. His grandmother had a hen and would sometimes boil and eat the eggs it laid.
“No,” Denis said. “I have another plan for it. I want to put it among the ones your hen has laid.”
“Hmmm,” his grandmother said. “I think I know what you want to do. You want to put your small egg among mine so that you can pick a big one for yourself.
“No,” Denis said. “I want your hen to sit on my egg so that it can hatch with the others.”
“Okay,” his grandmother said, “However, mine began brooding yesterday. But if you insist then put a mark on your egg so that if it doesn’t hatch we can know.”
Denis quickly did so.
One morning, after many days had passed, Denis heard the hen cackling from the house, and he rushed to see what was happening. He discovered the eggs had hatched, and the chicks were moving about. Nevertheless, the hen was not leaving its nest and moments later when it lifted itself up, Denis saw all the other eggs had hatched apart from his.
“You should have eaten it while you had the chance.” His grandmother said behind him.
“Let’s be patient for a while and see what happens.” He said while walking away with a heavy heart.
Later that day, he heard grandmother call him. He rushed over to see the hen coming out of the house with the chicks. ‘If my egg hasn’t hatched,’ he thought to himself, ‘then I will never see what I had planned’
He counted the chicks quickly and he couldn’t believe the number he got.
“Grandmother,” he shouted, happily. “My egg hatched”
“Yes, and that’s why I called you.” His grandmother said.
His grandmother then pointed with her stick at one of the chicks.
“That must be yours,” she said. “You can see how different it looks from the others.”
Now that grandmother had pointed out, he noticed that not only was it smaller than all the other chicks, but it had black feathers while all the others were white.
Time went as time goes and before long, the black hen had grown and was walking in the courtyard when grandmother said to Denis. “I guess you are inching for the day when I tell you to get a knife for that one.”
“No. Grandmother,” Denis said. “I have a better plan.”
“Okay,” his grandmother said. “Let me wait and see.”
The black hen began laying eggs and Denis prepared a good nest for it and made sure the eggs were safe. One day, he found it had begun brooding and he kept a good watch over it until the hen squawked loudly at his presence.
“Hey, stop disturbing that hen,” Grandmother said to him, “Unless if you want to sit on the eggs by yourself. If not, let it have some peace.”
Denis moved and left the hen in peace.
Twenty-one days later, the hen came out of the house with chicks following it.
“Come and see,” Grandmother called to him, “We shall eat a lot of chicken this year.”
“Grandmother, it’s too early for that and I also have a better plan.” He counted them and saw he had eight chicks.
Time flew by and as it went, the chicks grew into cocks and hens.
“Now is the time to eat them before that chicken disease comes and kills all of them.” Grandmother said to him one day. “You should know by now that chicken soup is tastier when the chicken is healthy.”
“Grandmother, I have another plan,” Denis said.
The next day, he asked the trader who usually passed by their home with poultry to sell in the market of how he could prevent his chicken from getting the chicken disease. The trader told him of the man who had medicine and could treat the chicken for him. Denis then sold one hen to the trader and paid the man who came to treat his hens.
“That is wastage of money,” he heard grandmother mutter to herself. “I can’t waste my money treating a hen.”
Denis heard but he muttered to himself. “I have a plan that’s why I can’t call it wasting.”
Before long, the hens had grown and Denis called the trader to exchange five hens for a small goat. The trader accepted. The next day, he walked away with the hens in a basket and left a small bleating goat behind.
The remaining hens laid more eggs and hatched them as the goat grew. Before long, Denis had two goats and many hens.
“Your goats have grown up,” Grandmother said to him. “I feel an urge to sip some goat soup.”
“Not yet,” Denis said to her. “I have a better plan.”
And that night, as his grandmother sipped some chicken soap, he went to tie the young cow that he had exchanged with the trader for his goat and most of the hens.
The cow grew and then produced a calf; the goat produced kids; the chicks grew into hens and laid more eggs.
Time went by as it usually does. Trouble also came as it does; a thief passed by; some chicken diseases also visited, some new voices of those demanding some soup also passed by, but Denis knew what he wanted and persisted.
One day, the trader, while passing by said to Denis, “hey, millionaire, how are the animals and the birds?”
“They are doing well,” He replied. “I treat the hens, feed the cow and goats. I want to exchange again for another cow.”
“That is okay with me,” the trader said. “It’s always nice doing business with you.”
As the trader went away, his grandmother said. “I feel like sipping on some cow soup but I know you have a better plan. You might be an orphan but I see that that trader is right. I remember my mother used to tell me the ripest fruits falls to the one who waits. I now see you have a plan of becoming a millionaire.”
Since that day, that became his name. They began calling him a millionaire orphan.
Time flew like the way it does.
And now, he has a big farm of animals and poultry. Many traders come to buy from him. Nobody remembers they used to call him a millionaire orphan anymore. They call him a millionaire for he is very rich. Most don’t believe when he tells them he began with one egg. Do you?
The Millionaire Orphan won first place in the 2021 Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature.
Click to read Tea Time With Tito – 2nd place winner
Click to read The Enchanted Pen – 3rd place winner
Click to see the full list of the winners
