
The lazy King Dodon receives a magical golden cockerel from an astrologer that warns of approaching danger. When the cockerel crows, Dodon goes to war and falls under the spell of the beautiful Queen of Shemakha. The astrologer demands the Queen as his promised reward, Dodon kills him, and the cockerel pecks the king to death, a satirical fable about the corruption and stupidity of rulers.