The Joy of creativity
After a long invigorating flight Kevin decided to land. Kevin saw a funny looking man, dressed top to toe in black but with a little white square at the front of his neck, who was looking at him, and and then started walking towards him. "No chance!" Kevin exclaimed and jumped back into flight.
As he flew, Kevin could hear some beautiful music that made him feel like electricity all over, making his feathers stand on end and his eyes widen. He followed the music came to a building it came from and circled overhead. Kevin had never heard music like this before and had to find out more. He landed on the window ledge of an open window on the house.
The house looked like it was in need of some love, but the music was amazing. "Oh hi Mr Chicken" a friendly voice from inside said. "Hello! I'm Kevin the Chicken, I used to be a little boy!" "How cool" said the man inside, "I used to be a little boy too" he continued. "Come in, I've just made a lentil stew. We're all vegans, so you are safe here chicken boy" he said. Kevin was really hungry after all that flying, and vegans only eat vegetables and Kevin was a vegan too. And lentil stew sounded perfect for a hungry chicken. Kevin felt much better after the delicious meal. The man explained that he was an artist, made music and painted beautiful things, but that people who worked in factories or shops made more money than he did. He lived in something called a "squat", but Kevin didn't know what that was. It is a house that is not being used, so people decide to use it and look after it. Kevin didn't know why there was a special name for that. There were special names for lots of things Kevin thought. "Would you like to help me with some art?" said the man. "Oh yes please!" exclaimed Kevin. The man had lots and lots of canvasses around his room and a very large one was lying flat in the middle of the floor. It was covered in splatters all the colours of the rainbow. Kevin tried to get a closer look and before he realised it he had walked through some paint and had his foot prints all over the canvas.
When Kevin realised what he had done he felt a "Oh No!" type of shock but the man said excitedly "That's it! Genius! I was looking for inspiration and this is it!. It is nearly finished, Kevin can you keep walking?" It wasn't long before the painting was finished. The man told Kevin about how art can come from anywhere, from inspiration, from copying, from life, or nature, or just starting and seeing where it takes you. He told Kevin that everything you want to do can be broken down into little steps, and each step done takes you closer to where you want to go. Sometimes you have to do some research before you start, and you have to know where you want to go to know that you have arrived. You just start, and then continue, step by step, until you reach the end - and then you have a celebration if you want. Kevin liked little steps as he had little chicken legs. Kevin and the man painted one picture step by step, and then they painted another, and then another, and kept going until they ran out of paint. Along the way the man had taught Kevin all he knew about painting and how to break projects down into little chicken steps. Both Kevin and the man were very excited and the man said they should get the pictures exhibited.
It wasn't long before the exhibition and Kevin and the man were very excited. Kevin got a little beret hat from an old army doll he had and put it on Kevin. The exhibition was a great success and there were lots of people there, and journalists from art magazines and newspapers. They started asking Kevin questions. "Kevin, where do you get your inspiration from?" Kevin answered "I just open my imagination and let things flow. It's not something I have to force, it is like it is always there I just need to feel free and let it flow. And sometimes an accident works out really well. The great thing about art is that you are really free to create. We create things out of nothing, our imagination is free and is the most wonderful thing. Art is like life, first an idea comes, or you imagine something, and then you turn it into reality. Sometimes it becomes real straight away, sometimes it takes some time." Kevin remembered what the prime minister said and that how Kevin disagreed, so Kevin felt like he should say something so he continued, "People naturally get along together, they don't need big banks to make them do hard work just for the sake of it. Art is like that, we create things from nothing. People can have fun and work at things to make the world a better place." The journalists were very excited at Kevin's points and they had a lot of material to use for their newspaper. A lot of people read their publications and people would believe anything they wrote, it could either work out well or bad for Kevin, but Kevin was true to himself and had his own opinions, and also respected the opinions of others. A man approached Kevin and took him aside. He was a very impressive man, very well dressed and smelled like some kind of flower, and said to Kevin that he could make him rich if he came and made some art for him. All he would have to do would be to do what the man says and he would be rich. Kevin felt angry and said to the man that Kevin is free to do what he wanted, when he wanted, and that money is very low actually and the man might think he was doing well in life, but that he really wasn't. Kevin stormed off and went to his artist friend. "We have had a great time, met some lovely people, and spoken how we feel to people who are interested and listened. Can we go home now?" Kevin said. "Of course we can" said the man, and they said goodbye to their friends there and then made their way back home.
The man had taught Kevin all he knew, even how to play the guitar and they both sang songs together. One day some people came to the house and said that Kevin and the man couldn't be there anymore so they both had to leave. The man and Kevin had to say goodbye to each other and both continue on their journey through life. Kevin said that he would see the man some time soon and he would have more art to show him. They wished each other luck and left.
Onwards and Upwards
Kevin heard a sad little chirp, as if a tiny little chick was crying. And there was. Kevin followed the sound and soon he came across a little chick that must have fallen out of a tree. "Oh dear" said Kevin, "I'm Kevin the chicken, I'm going to help you."
The little chick stopped crying and looked up at Kevin sadly said "really?" "Yes of course" Kevin said smilingly. "It looks like we need to get you back up to your nest up there?" said Kevin as he pointed up to the top of a mighty oak tree. "It looks so far" said the chick. "Everywhere looks so far away until you get there, and then when you look back it doesn't ever look as far as it was. It looks too far for me to fly you up there. I think we need to build you a ladder." Kevin explained what a ladder was and that it was just like building a very long nest, as that is the only thing that birds built. After warming the chick up under his wing, Kevin began collecting sticks, twigs, and anything that could be used. Kevin loved playing with building bricks back home, and making towers and buildings and spaceships and cars, and imagined himself being an architect or an engineer. If only he had some of those bricks now, but he didn't. He had to use whatever was at hand. Kevin worked and worked and worked. As he foraged for materials he came across a hedgehog. "Hello, what are you doing?" asked the hedgehog? "I'm collecting things to make a ladder" said Kevin. After explaining what a ladder was and what it was used for the hedgehog said he would help. Kevin was very pleased, and soon lots of different animals were volunteering and helping out - just because they wanted to. Kevin was amazed. By nighttime the ladder was really coming together. As the sun set, Kevin and the chick settled down under a small bush for the night. "Will I ever see my home again?" said the chick. "Of course you will!" said Kevin. "I hope so" said the chick and then asked if Kevin would tell him a story. Kevin couldn't remember most of the stories he'd heard over the years, but he had a good imagination and lots of recent experience in life. So Kevin began to tell the story:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who lived in a magnificent kingdom. It sounds beautiful, but there was one problem, she was all alone. Everywhere she went there was nobody there. She played alone, sat alone, ate alone, lived alone, there was nobody there, not even birds or animals. One day she was feeling especially lonely so decided to try and travel as far as she could to find someone else. She walked for miles and miles and came to a lake and found a boat moored. She didn't know how to sail, but it couldn't be that hard, plus she was desperate. Off she went sailing over the lake. Hours and hours went by and she could see the shore. She became very excited and climbed out onto the land, only to realised that it was the same place she left from. She couldn't believe it. Back on the boat she went again, and deciding that she would put a lot more effort into steering this time, even though she had done before. Hours went by and she saw land again. Again it was the same land that she left from. She decided to go home and the next day decided to try something different. Off she went in the opposite direction. She travelled for hours and hours only to come to the foot of huge cliffs. She walked for hours and hours trying to find a gap in the cliffs, but to no avail. She went back home and fell asleep. The next day she decided to go to the library in the castle where she lived to look for some maps or some information about how to get out of the kingdom. She went to the library and rummaged through lots of books until she came to a very old and special looking book. The book was a description of what happened to her and her fathers kingdom. People in the kingdom were very friendly people, but an evil witch put a magic spell on the kingdom that made people start to fear and not like each other. This got worse and worse until people started to disappear. The curse made them still live in the same place, but not to see anyone else. It was like each one of them had separated into their own separate world where they were all alone, and yet everyone else was in the same world, but they just couldn't see each other. This made the princess think, how can we bring everyone together again? She had an idea - to build something that would bring everyone together; she wanted to build a magnificent tower that would stand for all time to remind people that it was good to love each other and that could shake off all evil spells. The next day she began digging the foundation for the tower. Then day after day she kept working on the tower. It was a hard and lonely task until one day the tower had seemed to have been bigger than it was when she left it the day before? The other people in the kingdom began to see the tower being built and started helping add to it. As they did this they all became aware that there was other people around but they just couldn't see them. One day, soon after, a person appeared in plain sight of the princess. She was overjoyed. As each day passed more and more people appeared and the tower grew bigger and bigger until one day the tower was built and every person who had disappeared had returned. The last person to appear was the King. The evil witch had realised she had failed and saw the magnificence of the tower so left the kingdom to somewhere nobody knew. The people in the kingdom lived happily ever after.
On the last word the chick had fallen into a deep relaxing sleep. Kevin made sure the chick was safe and warm under his little wing.
The next day Kevin and the other animals continued to work on the ladder until it soared up in the air, finally reaching the nest. Now was time to take the chick back home to his mother. The chick clung on to Kevin's shoulder. Kevin was hoisted up onto the back of a rabbit, who in turn was on the back of a badger to get a perfect lift for the long climb up.
Kevin climbed and climbed until they reached the top of the ladder. Kevin stood as tall as he could, and leaned over so the chick could climb off into the nest. With a tiny leap the chicken made it home, and at the same time Kevin leaped off and glided in a spiral all the way down to the floor of the woods. The tiny chick leaned over and waved at Kevin and the animals and let out a happily high pitched chirp. All the animals were pleased with what they had a achieved and would long continue to describe what a ladder was to unbelieving animals. Kevin made a lot of friends and found a nice place to live, but he understood the importance of finishing things that he started, so off he went continuing his adventure.
Forever changing world
Kevin flew right over the top of a very tall house and landed on the pavement outside. He was loving his new ability to fly. He felt his muscles growing in size and felt a little bit macho, like a chicken version of superman. "Superchicken! Kevin the Superchicken!" he thought to himself as he walked along the street.
"Oh hello there little chicken" said a man in a suit holding a clipboard. "Hello, I'm Kevin" said Kevin. The man was taken aback and exclaimed "good lord a talking chicken!" "Of course I can talk, I'm really a little boy" said Kevin. "A little boy? "How old are you in boys years?" said the man. "Eleven" Kevin answered. "Eleven boys years, well that makes you thirty three in chicken years Kevin" said the man and smiled. "Well Kevin, I can tell you are a very clever boy/chicken, so the world is your oyster. Have you ever considered a career in politics? We need people like you" said the man. Kevin loved seafood but didn't understand what oysters had to do with the world. And politics? What is that all about, he thought to himself. "I'm sure that just makes people angry?" thought Kevin. "Kevin, you could help us make a real difference in this country. This is an important time Kevin, the people need true leadership, jobs and economic growth, and a brighter future for us all! Isn't this the type of thing that you would like to help with Kevin?" Kevin couldn't disagree to what the man said, as he had heard teachers, parents, and lots of other people say that these things are good to have, and a lack of them makes people sad. Kevin liked things that were good, and didn't like things that were bad. Kevin also felt a bit lost on this unfamiliar street. "Yes, I will help out" Kevin to the politician. "You have made a very wise decision Kevin, I would expect no less from a chicken as clever as you. Now, let me take you and show you the houses of Parliament where we will begin our new campaign towards a brighter future." "A brighter future" Kevin said to himself and his eyes lit up - that is all he was imagining for himself and his friends and family all this time, and wanted them to share it with them. Off they went in a chauffeur driven car that was paid for by people paying tax.
Kevin was really excited about this new adventure, it was like all he imagined in the past was becoming real. It wasn't long before they were driving through very tall buildings and seeing all types of people. As they drove the politician was explaining that he would introduce Kevin to the Prime Minister. "WOW! The Prime Minister" said Kevin excitedly. The politician was very enthusiastic in telling Kevin that he the government would really appreciate Kevin's help. The flashy car went through a security gate, and through to the Houses of Parliament. Kevin's feathers fluffed up with pride as they were saluted as they came in. A meeting was set up for Kevin to meet the "cabinet". Kevin had a cabinet at home and it was pretty wooden and lifeless, so why would he want to meet one now? When he got there, there was a couple of cabinets in the room, but nobody paid much attention to them, instead there was a huge table with lots of people in grey suits and looking sad and were all as plump as Kevin with fluffed up feathers. "Maybe it is a difficult thing to do, running a country. There are lots and lots of different people, with different attitudes, different beliefs, different skills, surely it must be hard to make everyone happy all the time" Kevin thought to himself. Kevin was introduced as a very pleasant young man who is going to help the new campaign. "Hello everyone! My name is Kevin and I'm 33 chicken years old. I used to be a little boy but now I'm a chicken. I'm going to help make the world a better place by helping people be happy and using their imagination and being creative and happy." A few people mumbled what sounded like "here here" which Kevin didn't know what that meant. "Maybe I'm here to help these people here first?" Kevin thought. Kevin was then introduced to the Prime Minister. "Hello Mr Prime Minister!" exclaimed Kevin. "I'm going to help you make the country a better place by making it easy for people to be more creative and have fun and imagine amazing things and play together!" said Kevin excitedly. "Well well Kevin, that sounds great" said Mr Prime Minister, "first we have to train you in our new plans for making a more productive and lucrative future." Kevin wasn't sure what that meant, but it must be nice if the Prime Minister said it. "And we need to improve the image of a few wars we are involved in as people are not really understanding how we need to help people." Kevin felt a bit sad on hearing this. "How can war be good Mr Prime Minister?" Kevin asked grimly. "Come come now Kevin, we are making peoples lives better, actually saving real lives Kevin. You want to help save lives don't you Kevin?" said the Prime Minister. Kevin had a funny feeling inside that he didn't like, a lot like when the fox spoke to him. "I like to help people and want to save lives, but Mr Prime Minister I don't think war is the answer. When there is a fight at school the teachers break it up and make each person shake hands, why should we take sides in a war?" "A very nice sentiment Kevin and I'm touched" said Mr Prime Minister, "maybe that part we can keep for later. In the meantime the world needs workers to work and make enough money to pay off the huge debts we have to our friends the bankers. The bankers print paper money for us, which we repay with interest. We simply cannot support the workers as we have to pay off our debts, so people must work harder and endeavor to pay off their debts." Kevin's head felt a bit funny. "That simply does not make sense Mr Prime Minister? I'm an 11 year old boy - 33 chicken year old chicken and that doesn't make any sense to me? These bankers are not our friends if they do things like that to us? It sounds like some people with power are greedy and are making decisions based on greed to keep things the way they are for them and us. They are not being nice to others, or really themselves. People should spend more time with each other having fun, imagining great things, making inventions, laughing singing, doing work that needs to be done in a fun way for the pure satisfaction of doing it and not focusing on rewards. My friends at school want to be rich for no reason and I think I am one of the richest people in the whole wide world with my imagination." "Kevin, who have you been speaking to?" said mr Prime Minister. "Nobody Mr Prime Minister, I am a free thinking individual, and it seems like I am dangerous to you. I'm sorry that you are working hard with your campaign, but please make sure you are doing it for the right reason and you are doing the right thing. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I think I have to find other people like myself, and it seems like there are not many like me around." Kevin sighed and his feathers flattened. He looked outside at the people working hard and felt sad. "I think I have to go now Mr Prime Minister" Kevin said. "I hope your cabinet gets fixed." And with that Kevin jumped out onto a window ledge, took one look back at Mr Prime Minister, and took off over the sunny midday city of London.
