Key & Compass presents:
The Lesson of the Chicken
by R. Noyes

The Lesson of the Chicken is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 and is © 1998 by R. Noyes. It was a participant in the ChickenComp event. The title is a homage to The Lesson of the Tortoise, a game written in 1997 by G. Kevin Wilson.

In this small game, you play as Wang Chung, a farmer who once wanted to be a comedian. You're carrying your axe down a deserted highway when you see the chicken and the stump. Destiny calls.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.

Walkthrough
Extras
- Characters, Inventory
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
External links:
- This game at IFDB, IFWiki, and ifwizz.
- Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Walkthrough

Off the road

The axe's inscription is your major clue as to what do to in this game: "Restore connections" "Trade roles. Sever connections. Complete the circle."

> about. x me. xyzzy.

> i. x axe. read inscription.

> x stump. x head. take head. eat head.

> throw axe at stump. take axe.

> x blood. (Spot a trail northwest.)

> nw.

The Road

> x chicken. x road.

> give head to chicken. (Er, I mean...)

> put head on chicken. (The chicken crosses the road.)

> n.

The Other Side

> x chicken. give axe to chicken. (It goes northwest with it.)

> nw.

Other Edge

> x stump. get on stump.

There is a change in perspective. You are now the chicken.

> x me. x wang. xyzzy.

> kill wang.

*** You have won ***

> amusing.

Extras

Characters

Wang Chung is a farmer and the initial protagonist.
A headless chicken is beside the road. It later becomes a reconstituted chicken, and later still, the protagonist.

Inventory

an axe. Wang Chung is carrying it. Examine it and read its inscription for a major clue. At the other side of the road, give the axe to the restored chicken. As the chicken, kill Wang Chung with it.
the head of a chicken. Found on an old stump at off the road. Take it and put it on the headless chicken to restore it.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!