Maria's Scarf by Zoro

Author:Zoro
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing

25

ain’t nobody here but us chickens

One day Mama drove Bobby and me out to John and Bruce Donovan’s house in Williams, near the Applegate River. These classmates of mine had gained quite a reputation by raising show birds. I had always thought a chicken was a chicken—good for eggs and for frying but not much else. They seemed dirty and messy to me, all scraggly and feathery, and far too nervous to be much of a pet.

All that changed when I saw the Donovans’ menagerie. With over two acres under wire and more than two hundred species of exotic fowl, it was like the United Nations of birds. Every shape, color, and nationality was represented, like dignitaries from all around the world convening to discuss matters of importance to the avian world.

As the boys proudly showed us their compound, Mama leaned over and whispered to me, “You and Bobby could do this. I know you could.” When she saw the spark of excitement in my eyes, she started asking them questions. “How much does chicken feed cost? How often do they lay eggs? How much do you sell a dozen eggs for?”

While she was learning from the brothers, a dream was being hatched in my mind. Out of the eggshells came dollar bills!

We bought a hen and a rooster from them that day, which set in motion a new obsession. With the same affection people name a cat or dog, we dubbed our feathered friends Henny Penny and Sergeant. Henny was a butterscotch color, almost like a tabby cat. Sergeant was all scratch and strut, a beige and bronze military man from comb to claw.

It was no mystery that hens laid eggs, and we couldn’t wait for Henny Penny to present us with her first offering. But after feeding her for a good month, our malfunctioning bird had yet to lay a single one. We decided to sell our money pit to someone who would make an eight-piece McNuggets special out of her. On a drizzly fall day, we set out to catch her. But chasing chickens was not as easy as we thought, and for ten minutes she outran both Bobby and me.

Chickens are considered animals of low intelligence. I would have agreed, until something happened that changed my opinion. With the fierceness of a bounty hunter, I pursued Henny Penny in the pelting rain. Eventually I managed to grab a clump of her sopping feathers and pin her down. I was about to hand her over to our buyer, when she looked back at me with her beady eyes, and voilà! She laid an egg. It was one of the most freakish things I had ever witnessed. It was as if she had a sixth sense. Like she knew she was about to be a chicken sandwich if she didn’t produce.

Her egg was shaped like all other chicken eggs, but instead of being white or brown, the shell was deep olive green. Despite its odd color, we were thrilled to get our first egg.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.