A man placed an eagle’s egg in a hen’s nest. The eagle hatched among chickens and grew up doing what they did: scratching for insects, clucking, and flying only a few feet from the ground.
Years later, the old eagle saw a magnificent bird riding the wind high above him. He asked a chicken what it was.
The chicken said it was an eagle, king of the birds, and that creatures like them were entirely different.
The eagle accepted the explanation. He died believing he was a chicken.
Source: Anthony de Mello, “The Golden Eagle,” The Song of the Bird, printed pp. 120-121 (PDF pp. 138-139). Retold.
What it argues
An identity learned from the surrounding group can feel more authoritative than evidence of one’s own nature. The cage is strongest when it is a category rather than a wall.
Use it for: conformity, self-concept, education, potential, and limiting beliefs.