By the Way, I’m Now Living in the Mountains

al bird.
So I knew he was male.
Tama and Yuma, on the other hand, were female-like.
Sure, I heard both of them chirping frequently as hatchlings, but neither of them ever did the cock-a-doodle-doo thing that Pochi did.
I gave them three pellets of feed that hadn’t been treated with pesticides, and they all clucked in delight.

‘I’m really sorry about their behavior.’

Anyway, there were some things I didn’t understand about my chickens.

“…The grass seems alright.
Hey, just wait a little, you guys! I can’t continue like this!~”

“…Can’t continue~”

’

“Can’t continue~”

“Can’t continue~”

‘Are you guys parrots? Is it parakeet? I’ve never heard a chicken talk.’

“What—!?”

“…What~”

“What~”

“What~”

’

‘Don’t you ‘what’ me!’

Suddenly, Tama made a jerky, rapid motion.

“Whoa!?! W-What is it?”

A snake was in its beak.
A small snake called a viper.

“Oh~ as always, you’re awesome, Tama.
Wait here,” I said as I retrieved a plastic bottle from the house.

I carefully removed the viper from Tama’s grip and placed its head in the opening of the plastic bottle, allowing it to slide in without any trouble.
It was a technique I learned from an old man in the village at the foot of the mountain.
One had to be very careful because the head could still come out after it was almost in the bottle.

’

(Note: Good children should never mimic such behavior.)

“Thanks, Tama!” I thanked him and raised my head. ‘I mean, don’t chickens usually get eaten by snakes or something?”

Yuma, meanwhile, spread her wings and dashed around the back of the house.
And there she was, returning after capturing another viper.
‘There must’ve been many vipers around the house.
This is dangerous.’

“You’ve also caught one, Yuma? Thank you.
You can all share it.” The three birds promptly began greedily devouring their prey after I gave the signal. ‘It’s a little frightening to see chickens preying on vipers.
Also, they definitely understand what I’m saying, don’t they?’ Tired out, I returned indoors to drill more holes in the plastic bottles.

‘That’s my lifestyle right now.’

Translator’s Notes

The chickens have a name now! Pochi, Tama and Yuma!