The Chicken Prince

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov often related the following parable:

There was once a prince who lived with his father and mother, the king and queen, in splendid fashion. He received the finest education and upbringing. To his parents' chagrin, one day the prince went through an identity crisis and came to the conclusion that he was really a chicken and not a human being.

Initially, the king and queen thought he was kidding. However, after he stopped joining them at the royal table and began to spend his days and nights in the chicken coop, they knew that serious trouble was afoot.

One day the prince went through an identity crisis and came to the conclusion that he was really a chickenNeedless to say, the prince's strange behavior caused indescribable angst for his loving parents, and intense embarrassment for the royal family at large. The king was ready to spare no expense for the person who could cure his son. The finest doctors and psychiatrists of the land came and tried, all to no avail.

The king was at a loss until a gentle-looking wise man came to the palace. "I hereby offer to cure the prince free of charge," declared the man. "My only condition is that no one interferes with anything I do."

Intrigued and desperate, the king and queen readily agreed.

The following day, the prince had human company in the chicken coop. It was the wise man. "What are you doing here?" asked the chicken prince.

"Why are you here?" countered the man.

"I am a chicken and this is a chicken coop," responded the prince emphatically.

"Well, I am also a chicken," he replied. With that, he began to hop around and eat chicken feed with gusto. The prince was convinced. A few days passed in this fashion.

One morning, the wise man approached the prince. "I am from a faraway land," he revealed. "In my homeland, chickens don't actually hop. They walk around like regular people."

"Really!" exclaimed the prince. "That must be a great place to be a chicken."

"Let's try it here," suggested the wise man, "Let's walk around."

The chicken prince readily agreed to his new friend's suggestion.

After a few days had passed, the now-upright wise man suggested to the now-upright chicken prince that they move inside the house because in another great metropolis, chickens didn't live in coops, they lived in stately palaces fit for princes. Again, the chicken prince agreed.

So the process continued. Shortly thereafter the wise man convinced the chicken prince that in another great land, chickens ate people food. Then came sitting at the table and enjoying human conversation. Within a short time, the chicken prince, although still maintaining that he was a chicken, began conducting himself exactly like a regular person.

Fortunately, most of us don't suffer from chicken complexes. But here's a question we can all ask of ourselves: Am I limiting my potential because of my self perception?