Presented at the Sunday Service of the EUU Fall Retreat 2025, in Cologne, Germany. Devised, created and presented by retreat volunteers; inspired by Diane Rollert’s reading. © European Unitarian Universalists. 2025. All rights reserved.

The screen is black. A needle drops on an old record—something twangy, ironic. The voiceover kicks in, low and cool:

VO: “It wasn’t the sky that fell. Not at first. It was the story.”

Scene One – The Diner

Henny Penny’s Diner sits off a dusty road. Inside, it’s coffee mugs, cracked vinyl booths, and a jukebox stuck on loop.

Chicken Little (CL) bursts in—eyes wild, feathers ruffled, talking faster than anyone can follow. He slams down a seed-shell ashtray like it’s evidence.

CL: “The sky’s cracking, man. I heard it. Big cosmic thud. Ain’t no meteor, ain’t no weather balloon. This is the endgame.”

Henny Penny wipes down the counter, unimpressed.

Henny: “You been hittin’ the sunflower hooch again? Sky don’t fall. Never has, never will.”

But Turkey Lurkey, nursing whiskey in the corner, perks up. The old bird’s got that haunted-cop look.

Turkey: “Don’t laugh. I’ve seen shadows like that before. Seoul, ’83. Whole block gone. Folks said it was ‘just the weather.’”

The diner falls silent. A seed of paranoia is planted.

Scene Two – The Hustler

Ducky Lucky rolls in with Goosey Loosey in tow. Duck’s in shades, strutting like he owns the joint. He listens just long enough to smell opportunity

Ducky: “Sky falling, huh? That’s a headline. You sell fear, you sell tickets. We get ahead of this, we run the show.”

Goosey just cracks his knuckles,

CL looks desperate now. He’s not trying to sell a story. He’s trying to get believed.

CL: “You don’t get it. This ain’t hype. This is it. You wanna hustle, you’re hustling the apocalypse.”

Scene Three – Enter Foxy

The diner door swings again. In glides Foxy Loxy. Tail perfect, teeth perfect. He buys coffee but doesn’t drink it. Just sits, grinning.

Everyone knows Foxy runs the rackets. But now he’s listening to CL’s rant like it’s gospel.

Foxy: “Tell me more about this… sky situation. Maybe I can help.”

The others lean in, but CL stiffens. He knows a wolf in fox’s clothing when he sees one.

CL: “You don’t help. You eat. That’s what you do.”

Foxy laughs, smooth, dangerous.

Foxy: “We all eat, little man. Some of us just got better table manners.”

Scene Four – The Crack

Mid-argument, the whole diner shakes. Windows rattle, a low boom rolls across the town. Silence. Even the jukebox hiccups.

Everyone turns to CL. He just stares at the ceiling.

CL (whispers): “Told you.”

Now the paranoia is real. Turkey Lurkey grips his revolver. Goosey moves toward the window. Foxy’s smile widens.

Scene Five – Standoff

Suddenly, it’s not about the sky. It’s about who owns the story. Fear is currency. Whoever controls it, controls the town.

• Ducky wants to spin it into profit.
• Henny wants order in her diner.
• Turkey wants to settle old scores.
• Foxy wants to feast—on fear, on chaos, maybe on everyone in the room.

CL? He just wants someone to believe him.

The room erupts in overlapping voices, insults, threats. Guns come out. Beaks point.

And then—

Final Scene – Fade Out

Through the window: a shadow crosses the sky. Massive. Silent. Unmistakable.

The arguing stops. Every beak tilts upward.

CL lights another sunflower seed cigarette, hands shaking.

CL: “Told you, man. Told you the sky was falling.”

Cut to black. Surf rock blasts. Roll credits.