They have many tales in the Palatinate about Elwetritsche – the descendants of various kinds of fowl bred with forest dwellers like elves and goblins. I once found an Elwetritsche egg on a hike in the Palatinate Forest and since it seemed abandoned I decided to put in my backpack and carry it with me. Unfortunately, the eggshell cracked when stumbled on a big root of an oak tree and the Elwetritsch hatched right there in my pack. It was the kind which has a beak and sharp teeth and it started to hack its way through the canvas. It managed to get out and immediately fluttered and hopped into the thicket where I just manage to glance a larger Elwetritsch whom the newborn followed. I was left bewildered, with a split backpack, a swollen ankle and tale to tell in the next pub over a dubbeglas filled with a dry local wine.

The Ragtag Daily Prompt: Furphy