(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-01-03 09:19

A 50-year-old resident of the provincial capital of Chengdu in Sichuan Province has decided to keep a hen intended for the dinner table as a pet instead.

"No, no, I will never eat it. I will keep it as a magic charm," Gan Shugen said.

The hen was packed in a plastic bag and given to him by one of his relatives two days before.

"I thought it was already slaughtered so I bunged it in the freezer. To my surprise, it called out when I took it out of the freezer for cooking," Gan said.

Niu Lili, director of the animal hospital of the Chengdu Zoo, said the hen could have survived the cold with its thick feathers.

(Chengdu Evening News)