The labor standard., 1919-03-01
DADDy yIV[NDNa. AlRY TAL[ A1
HENS HIGH THOUGHTS.
W MARY GPAHAM RQNNER

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 "Cackle, cackle. cackle," said Mrs. Hen, "Gather around me, hens, for have something to say"
 They all gathered around Mrs. Hen, and waited to hear what she had to say.
 "I have thoughts, high thoughts" said Mrs. Hen, and all the other hens looked at her and then at each other and said in whispered cackles: Gan she have gone mad? What can the matter be? What does she mean by high thoughts?"a
 q know what you are all thinking" said Mrs. Hen, land really don't blame you in the least. But haven't gone mad. I have merely been think ing. .f.'
 Here in the henhouse in the winter time there aren't all the things to do that there are in the summer. So I have more time in which to think. I don't know that I will always spend my winters thinking. But have been spending great deal of this one in thought. #-a
 ''In fact I hear there have been com plaints about me. They say have not been spending enough time laying eggs. But how could have high thoughts and lay eggs, or how could lay eggs and have high thoughts? It goes either way but it doesn't seem to me as though those two things went together.
 oE It was a fine summer, but there were those awful motorcars coming and go- ing all the time.
 '"They are such noisy proud things, motorcars, and they have no right to be so proud. They have to be filled with gasoline and they have to be driven and often they have to be mended. They have to have new tires too.
 "Yet they make more noise than we do. And we have more right to boast. We may not be able to go so quickly. but we don't have to be filled with gasoline, we don't have to be driven nor do we have to be mended. As for having new tires, or new feet! We'll, we're entirely too fine for that. We don't need all that fussing.
 Of course we have to be fed, but we can find food too. Motorcars don't pick up gasoline without any help. They do make such a noise about themselves too. Silly, proud things.
 'sBut I have not been spending the whole time thinking of motorcars. l have been thinking of airplanes. 1 have. been wondering if the birds had to run this side and that of cloud in order to get out of the way of an air plane.
 fs s'.'I saw lot Of airplanes IastT sum mer, you know"
 .sWe all did, cackle, cackle," said the other hens.
 s.And I've been wondering if the birds got frightened and sometimes flew almost across cloud and then came flying back again.
 .sSo you see I have had high thoughts. I have been thinking of birds and clouds and airplanes." !. Lets all think of birds and clouds and airplanes," said the other hens. ssLet us think too about birds getting across clouds as hens get across roads,"
 And the hens cackled and clucked and talked and they were all very grateful to Mrs. Hen for having given them such high thoughts.
 But the farmer said: My hens eat as much as ever but they. don't seem to lay eggs. How strange it is r
 Mrs. Hen was made president of the club the hens started which they called the Club for Hens High Thoughts. At each meeting report was read of the last meeting, how it had taken place in the henhouse and each member had to make an address. 5.s
 The address was supposed to be about airplanes and birds and clouds. And some wonderful addresses were made.
 But after awhile, when they had discussed everything they could think of Mrs. Hen said: "It really isn't fair to the farmer to neglect our work. And we are being too ambitious. We can never go to the clouds and if we did go we would be more puzzled and frightened if airp1ane came along torcarS pass our way.
 "We'd better live the lives of hens and not of birds, even if we did have an interesting time with our high thoughts
 So they all agreed that this was but fair and they all began to lay eggs for the farmer.
 Aim Above Happiness.
 Some one has said that, if you would