The Russian word for chicken is курица. My great-grandmother had a henhouse by her home where she kept many chickens. Although the henhouse required many hours of cleaning every week, my great-grandmother enjoyed caring for her chickens and was happy doing the work. Primarily she raised the chickens for the eggs «яйца» and meat «мясо».

Occasionally my great-grandmother killed a chicken to make dinner for the family. She owned a small ax «топор» which she used to behead the chickens. She would tell me «сейчас мы будем готовить ужин» “now we will cook dinner”. She would choose the oldest chicken and carry it to the butchering table by its neck while it screamed and scratched. With one quick strike, she executed it and I watched with sadness as the beheaded chicken began running quickly around the yard for a few seconds before dropping dead. Afterwards, my great grandmother cleaned and plucked the chicken before she prepared dinner with it. Although, I sometimes felt sad when eating the chicken that was once alive, I could never resist my great grandmother’s cooking. I told her all the time «бабушка, ты вкусно готовишь курицу» “grandmother, the chicken you cook is tasty”.