Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-06-19
IT'S QUITE TRUE!

lnub 10 ~ tCfAAOAV ssAAols ohto ~
Hen; and she said it in quarter of the
town where the occurrence had not
happened. ".That is terrible affair in
the poultry-house. cannot sleep alone
tonight 1t is quite fortunate that
there are so many of us on the roost
togetherv' And she told tale, at
which the feathers of the other birds
stood on end, and the cocks comb fell
down fat. It's quite truel -.
But we will begin at the beginning;
and the beginning begins in o poultry
house in another part of the town.
The sun went down, and the fowls went
up on their perch to roost. There was
Hen, with white feathers and short
legs, who laid her right number of
eggs, and was respectable hen in every
way; as she few up on the roost she
pecked herself with her beak, and o
little feather fell out. s..
'There it goes!" said she; &c the
more I peck myself the handsomer l
growp And she said it quite merrily,
for she was joker among the hens,
though, as I have said, she was very
respectable; and then she went to
sleep.
It was dark all around; hen sat by
hen, but the one that set next to the
merry Hen did not sleep; she heard
and she didn't hear, as one should do
in this world if one wishes to live in
quiet; but she could not refrain from
telling it TO her next neighbor.
ssDid you hear what was said here
Just now? I name no names; but here
is hen who wants to peck her feathers
out to look we'll. If / were cock L
should despise her."
And Just above the hens sat the Owl,
with her husband and her little owlets;
the family had sharp ears, and they all
heard every word that the neighboring
hen had spoken, and they rolled their
eyes, and the Mother-Owl clapped her
wings and said,
"Don't listen to it! But suppose
you heard what was said there? l
heard it with my own ears, and one
must hear much before ones ears fall
off. There is one among the fowls who
has SO completely forgotten what is be-
coming conduct in hen that she pulls
out all her feathers, and then let's the
cock see her" f. ,.,l.,.
" Prenez garde auT infants," said the
Father-Owl. "Thats not fit for the
children to hear"
"Ill tell it to the neighbor owl; she's
q very proper owl to associate with"
And she few away" @
"Hoo! hoo! to-whoo!' they both
screeched in front of the neighbor's
dove-cote to the doves within. Have
you heard it? Have you heard it y
Hoo! hool there's hen who has
pulled out all her feathers for the sake
of the cock. She'll die with cold, if
she's not dead already"
"Coo! COO! Where, where? cried
the Pigeons.
"In the neighbours poultry-yard.
I've as good as seen it myself. H's
hardly proper to repeat the story, but
it's quite true!'
Believeit! believe every single word
of it cooed the Pigeons, and they cooed
down into their own poultry-yard.
'' There's hen, and some say that
there are two of them that have plucked
out all their feathers, that they may
not look like the rest, and that they
may attract the cocks attention. That's
bold game, for one may catch cold
and die of fever, and they are both
dead"
Wake up! wake upr" crowed the
Cock, and he few up on to the plank;
his ewes were still very heavy with sleep,
but vet he crowed. "Three hens have
died of an unfortunate attachment to
the cock. They have plucked out all
their feathers. That's a terrible story.
I won't keep it to myself; let it travel
farther"
"Let it travel farther!' piped the
Bats; and the fowls clueked and the
cocks crowed, LET it 60 farther! let
it go fartherw and so the story tray
eled from poultry yard to poultry-yard,
and at last came back to the place from
which it had gone forth.
"Tive fowls" it was told, "have
plucked out all their feathers to show
which of them had become thinnest out
of love to the cock; and then they have
pecked each other, and fallen down
dead, to the shame and disgrace OF
their families, and to the great loss OF
the proprietor" a
And the Hen who had lost the little
loose feather, of course did not know
her own story again, and as she was q
very respectable Hen, she said:
81 despise those fowls; but there
are many of that sort. One ought not
to hush up such thing, and shall
do what L can that the story may get
into the papers, and then it will be
spread over all the country, and that
will serve those fowls right, and their
families too"
1t was put into the newspaper; IT
was printed; and its quite true-thaf
one little feather may s,ceH until u be-
| coulee fire fo,rls