"
"I wonder the hens were not afraid of him."
"They seemed really to pity him and never tried to drive him away. At
first, and for a long time, the cat was so wild he would not let any of
the family come near him. I think he had been ill-treated. At last he
learned that we were his friends, and he became very fond of us. We kept
him until he died of old age."
"That speckled hen with eleven chickens looks gentle," said Robert.
"She is brave, too," said Mrs. Spencer. "Last summer, when she was
roaming about with a brood of chickens, a large dog came into the yard
through the gate, which happened to be open.
"The brave mother hen flew at him and came down on his back. She clung
to him and pecked him with her sharp bill, until he ran howling out of
the yard with the hen on his back."
"How far did she go with him?"
"She flew off as soon as he was fairly out of the yard and came clucking
back to her chickens, her feathers all bristled up, as proud a hen as I
ever saw. She is very fond of me. Just see this!"
Mrs. Spencer opened the door of the little house and called the speckled
hen, who ran out clucking and calling her chickens after her. The whole
brood crowded themselves into Mrs. Spencer's lap, as she sat on the
grass beside the house.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93