The spring cleanup had been routine – 20,000 substandard eggs removed from stores and discarded at the city landfill. Workers emptied the cartons onto the trash piles without a second thought, the eggs disappearing beneath mounds of rotting vegetables and packaging.
Then summer brought a surprise that left everyone stunned. The landfill caretaker was the first to notice something unusual – fewer birds than normal, and strange movements in the garbage. When he looked closer, he discovered thousands of cheeping chicks thriving among the refuse. Against every expectation, these eggs had hatched in the open dump, without incubation or protection.
As news spread, the city buzzed with theories. How had the eggs survived three months in those conditions? Why had they all hatched at once? Scientists examined the site but found no logical explanation. Meanwhile, residents flocked to adopt the resilient chicks, some keeping them as pets, others marveling at their improbable beginning. The landfill chicks became local celebrities, their mysterious origins a reminder of nature’s persistent will to survive.
