The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1891-04-10
miscellaneous.
Its Quite True"

That is a terrible affair !" said Hen; and
she said it in quarter of the town where the
occurrence had not happeHed. THAT is a
terrible affair in the poultry-house. l cannot
sleep alone tonight 1t is quite fortunate
that there are so many of US on the roost TO-
gether |" And she told tale at which the
feathers of the other birds stood on end, and
the cocks comb fell down fiat. It's quite
true!
But we will begin at the beginning; and
the beginning begins in a poultry-house in
another part of the town. The sun went
down, and the fowls jumped up ON their
perch to roost. There was Hen, with white
feathers and snort legs, who laid her right
number of eggs, and was respectable hen in
every way. AS she flew up on TO the roost,
she pecked herself with her beak, and little
feather fell out.
"There it goes p said she; 'the more peck
myself, the handsomer | growW And she
said it quite merrily, for she was Joker
among the hens, though, as ! said, she was
very respectable !; and then she went to sleep.
1t was dark all around hen sat by hen,
but the one that sat 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.
did you hear what was said here just now?
| name no names; but here is Hen who
wants TO peck her feathers out to look well.
If l were cock 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,
.st d. II
heard what she said there? heard it with
my own ears, and one must hear much be-
fore ones ears fall off. There is one among
the fowls who has SO completely forgotten
what is becoming conduct in hen, that she
pulls out all her feathers, and then lets the
cock see her"
"Prenez garde Gur eaJdnts," said the Father
Owl. That's not fit for the children to hear"
"I'll tell it to the neighbor owl ;ehe's q
very proper owl to associate with" And she
flew away.
Hoo !hoo to-whoo p they both screech-
ed in front of the neighbours dove-cot to the
doves within. Have you heard itg Have
you heard it2 Hoo !hoo 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"
Goo COO! Where, where9" cried the
Pigeons.
''In the neighbours poultry yard. I've as
good as seen it myself. It's hardly proper
to repeat the story, but it's quite true"
believe it !-believe every single word of
it p cooed the Pigeons, and they cooed down
into their own poultry.yard, There's a 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 a
fever and they are both dead"
"Wake up wake upl' crowed the Cock,
and he flew up on to the plank; his eyes
were still very heavy with sleep, but yet he
crowed. "Three hens have died OF an uniOr-
tunate attachment to cock. They have
plucked out all their feathers. That's ter
rible story. won't keep it to myself; let it
travel farther"
"Let it travel fartherP' piped the bats; and
the fowls clucked and the cocks crowed, Let
it go farther let it go tarther!" And so the
story travelled from poultry-yard to poultry
yard, and at last came back to the place from
which it had gone FORTH
Give 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"
And the Hen who had lost the little loose
feather, of course, did not know her own
story again and as she was very respect
able Hen, she said
II despise those fowls; but there are many
of that sort. One ought not to hush up such
a thing, and shall do what l can that the
story may get into the papers, and then il
will be spread over all the country; and that
will serve those fowls right, and their famili-
es too"
1t was put into the newspaper; it was
printed and it's quite true, that one little
feather may swell till it becomes five fowls
Hans Christian andersen.