Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-04-24

stroy the nice weeds and grass. and
make the weather SO cold our feathers
don't begin to keep US warm enough."'
"Just so," chorrsed the fowls.
'Mrs. Cochin is right" said Chanti7
cleer. II think I froze my comb last
nigh. too" i
Suppose we all run away" sug1
gested the black Spanish hen, who had
had the gnawing in her gizzard, "andl
live by ourselves, where they can't shut
us up any more and catch us to eat"
$50 we will" cried the rest, eagerly
And the Shanghai rooster was so exl
cited that he flew up on the rail fence
and crowed as loud as ever he could.
Then they started, old Chanticleer
taking the lead with his flock of chen,
and the turkeys, geese, guinea fowls and
ducks following after.
All but n canvas-back drake, who
fingered behind to see if there were not
o few grains of corn which had been
overlooked. But not finding any, he
waddled on after the rest, quacking at
the top of his voice.
The fowls, headed by Chandelier,
made their way through a thick copse
Of ha%zel-bushes out to an open glade
where the SUI shone warmly down, and;
some tufts of bluegrass showed here and
there, where patches of snow had melted
away.
'Why, it's getting warm already"
cried the delighted flock. ..Perhaps we
shall find the summer after awhile"
s.To-be-sure we WILL" said the gray
goose, stoutly. 81 have heard from
some of my relatives, who have travelled
q good deal. that only a short distance
from here there is summer all the year
round"
That's where we must CO." said
Chandelier, sagely. ..But for to day,
we will stop where we are. It seems
quite warm and comfortable here, and
tonight we a roost in those trees that
grow around this open space"
So they all scattered about on the
glade. picking off bits of the grass and
even finding a few insects among the
leaves which had drifted from the ada
cent trees.
Come, my dears," said the old buff
hen to her brood of long-legged, half
grown pullets, who were always clam
or:ng for something to eat, ..1et us go
into the edge OF the woods there, and
scratch among the dry leaves. We may
chance to find some nice beetles, or o
few fat snails, perhaps"
So the l~ong-lcgged pullets followed
their mother into the woods, and went
to scratching pell-mell among the dry
leaves.
my dear madam, you could nothave
suited me better" muttered a hungry
fox who had been hiding behind q
%brush-pile near by. '.Many a night
have l crept around your snug house in
hopes of getting a plump fowl for my
supper, but all in vain. Now / viii
have my revenge"
And carefully watching his opportu-
nifty. Mister Fox darted ont, seized the
largest of the long-legged pullets, and
bore her away in triumph.
The furious squawking and outcries
of the captive pullet and her frightened
mothers and sisters brought the other
fowly quickly to discover the cause.
"a fox!' gasped Ch~anticleer. .sWh-
which way did lie go? We had better
all run homo and consider what to do,
So they started, hustling and scurry-
ing through the woods as fast as they
could.
But. with all their speed, one old
drake, who was so fat he could not
waddle very fast. and was pounced up
on and carried off by a r%accoon, who
was hidden in a clump of bushes by the
roadside.
.Quit! quit! quit!" painted an old
turkey-hen. as the frightened fowls
reached home and flew up on the very
topmost roosts of the %hen-house. 1--WE
are safe here, if we do get locked up at
night. and for my part / shall stay hero
as long as I live."
And the rest of the flock twittered
their approval of her resolution.
we may have some things to COM
plain Of" said the gray go2se. when
she had somewhat recovered flom her
fright, tout at least we are well fed
and protected from the varmints that
live in the woods. And I've heard nv
relations say:
""T.s better to bear the ills we have,
Than fiy to those we now not of.
And l agree with them.''
And as the goose and her oft-men-
toned relatives were quite looked up to
by the other fowls, the matter was con-
sidered as good as settled.
"Dear me,'' sighed Mona, when she
counted the fowls that night, as usual.
after giving them their supper, zone
Of those fat pullets and poor old daddy
drake are missing! What can have be-
come of them, l wonder?"
But Mona never knew the fate of her
missing pets, nor how the fowls had so
suddenly been cured of their discon-
tent.