All the birds had been fed, and still Matryona did not call him. Could she have forgotten him? That would be no joke.
Then something happened which caused Turkey Gobbler to forget his hunger.
A young hen, walking near the barn, began to call, "Cut-a-cut! Cut-a-cut! Cut-a-cut!" All the other hens took up the call at once, screaming with all their might, "Cut-a-cut! Cut-a-cut!" Loudest of all was Rooster, of course, with his "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Who's there?"
Attracted by the noise, all the birds ran toward the barn. There they saw a most unusual sight. Close to the barn, in a hole, lay something gray and round and all covered with sharp needles.
"Just an ordinary stone," said one.
"It's moving," exclaimed Little Hen. "I also thought it was a stone, but it moved when I came close, and it seems to me that I saw eyes. Stones have no eyes, you know."
"A foolish hen can see anything if she is frightened," remarked Turkey Gobbler. "Perhaps it ... it ..."