X-OTIC

"An EGG?", little Martin asked with a bemused look on his face.

His mother rightly sensed that it was more of an exasperated scowl than a look of awe and wonder. "What, you don't like eggs now?"

"But you told me there would be magic", the tone of disapoointment in his voice was hard to miss.

"But this IS magic."

"An EGG??", he repeated, wondering if his mother had missed the point.

He looked at the egg, holding back tears of disappointment. The egg, a faint pink, was placed in an egg cup, which sort of resembled a tripod. If anything, the tripod was the only thing that seemed interesting to Martin at this moment.

She smiled, hoping he'd come around quickly, "It's magic dear...and with magic, you need to be very patient sometimes."

Just then, the egg seemed to move a little.

"IT'S MOVING", he screamed, suddenly struggling to contain his excitement.

"Yes my child...but there's more..."

And at that very moment, a tiny crack appeared on the shell. A small amount of colourless liquid oozed out from the crack. Soon the crack grew bigger, then there was more oozing, and more pushing from within the egg. The child clapped and squealed in joy through the entire episode.

Finally, after much struggle - and with a little help from the child and his mother - a tiny pink, hairless mass with a prominent beak and shut eyes made its way out of the shell.

"It's SOOO CUTE Momma", the child squealed, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Can I play with it? PLEASE??"

"Now, now Martin...", his mother's voice turned firm, "How many times have I told you? You should NEVER play with..."

"Steamed or deep-fried Ma'am?", the waiter asked, waiting in rapt atttention for a response.

"Deep-fried!", the child didn't wait for his mom to respond. It was his birthday after all.

"Right Sir!", the waiter said as he picked the chick up with a pair of tongs and walked towards the kitchen.