A farmer finds a large egg in his field. He asks each of his hens to hatch it before finding his oldest hen is willing because her nest is empty. The large and ungainly chick hatches and is named Richard. Richard is actually a baby eagle but spends his days growing up as a chicken, learning to peck and scratch at the ground. One day, Richard sees an eagle soaring in the sky and tells one of the hens he wishes he could be such a majestic bird too...