The grandmother looked tired but kind. At passport control, she quietly explained that she was flying to spend the winter with her grandchildren — they hadn’t seen each other in a long time, she missed them, and decided to visit. After her documents were checked, she calmly rolled her old gray suitcase toward the inspection belt.
The security officer, a young man in uniform, was carefully watching the scanner screen. He yawned as suitcase after suitcase passed by, until he suddenly noticed something unusual: there was something strange inside one of them.
— Wait a second… — he muttered, leaning closer. — What’s that…?
He lifted his head, and his gaze stopped on the elderly woman wearing a headscarf — the owner of the suspicious suitcase.
— Ma’am, what are you carrying?
— Nothing special, — she answered softly. — Just gifts for my grandchildren.
— Ma’am, — the officer said sternly, — I can see that you’re not telling the truth. What’s inside?
The woman lowered her eyes. Her hands began to tremble visibly. She looked frightened.
— There’s nothing… I told you already.
— Then I’ll have to open the suitcase, — the officer said firmly.
— You have no right! I won’t give you the code! — she exclaimed.
But it was too late. The officer took a pair of pliers, the lock clicked, the suitcase opened — and everyone around froze.
Inside sat three live chickens.
Next to them was a handful of grain and an old cloth that the grandmother had probably used to cover them during the trip. One chicken clucked softly, another tried to get out.
— These are… live chickens, — the officer said in disbelief.
— Yes, — the grandmother replied calmly. — I told you, I’m bringing gifts for my grandchildren.
— Ma’am, you know it’s forbidden to transport animals without proper documents!
The grandmother sighed deeply:
— I just wanted my grandchildren to have fresh soup. Everything there is so expensive, and I raised these hens myself — they’re good, home-raised ones…
The officer didn’t know what to say. He looked at his colleague, who simply shrugged. After a short discussion, the head of security decided that the chickens should be handed over to the airport’s veterinary service, and a report would be filed against the woman.
When the staff gently removed the animals from the suitcase, the old woman began to cry.
— I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do anything wrong…
The officer replied softly:
— We understand, ma’am. But the rules are the same for everyone.
The chickens were placed in quarantine, and later a local farm agreed to take them in. The grandmother was allowed to continue her journey, but without her “gift.”
Just before her flight, she quietly said to the officer:
— Please tell them not to forget me — those chickens are mine.
The young man smiled, for the first time that day, and replied:
— I promise, ma’am. They’ll be in good hands.
