Hildegard's Hen House

By Jeanne Linton

Have you ever looked into the eyes of a hen and wondered what she’s thinking. Or is she even thinking at all? Is there intelligent life behind those somewhat beady eyes? Does she see the world in the way we see it? Is she capable of friendship? Is she capable of loving others, of caring for them, of sharing, and is she capable of understanding the complicated processes of cause and effect? Please join in the adventure!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeanne Linton
• Release date: Oct 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463318201

Jeanne Linton

I was born in Vancouver, B.C. Married when I was 22 and moved to the midwest with my husband. While living in Michigan I had four children. Although I liked living in the U.S. after I was divorced, I returned to B.C. with two of my children where I have lived ever since, only returning to visit my family still in the U.S. I am retired now, enjoying my life, and continuing to write stories.I have written three young adult novels, a book where the main character is a chicken, but mostly science fiction novels. The science fiction novels ;'Seeds of the Galaxy' deals with the roots of humanity as they are forced from their world because of a changing environment and migrate across the cosmos.My books are listed on Smashwords under Jeannelinton.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The Hen House

WITH THE MORNING sun creeping through the cracks of the hen house, all is quiet. Suddenly, its Pamela’s low clucking that disturbs the others as they’re aroused from their slumber. As the hens open their eyes to greet the morning, Pamela’s clucking becomes intense as she strains against the urge to push a soft mass out of her body. With one last firm push, out plops the first egg of the day. She inspects the egg, ruffles her feathers, nestles it under her belly and continues to cluck contently.

For heaven’s sake, Pamela, it’s a dud so stop that infernal clucking.

Hildegard, would you be quiet please. You’re just mad because you haven’t laid one in days.

You’re a chicken, Pamela. Chickens lay eggs.

Some of us do it more efficiently than others! as Pamela continues to cluck.

The sun is barely up so would you two put a lid on it, Mildred clucks in annoyance. The old boy won’t be here for hours so I’d like to get a little more sleep while I can.

Really, Hildegard, he only picked up four eggs yesterday and he wasn’t pleased so let’s give Pamela a break, Nadia explains.

What do I care if he’s not pleased? Hildegard snarls.

Because he’s the one that feeds us, that’s why, Nadia continues.

If he’d let us out of this infernal pen we could feed ourselves, Hildegard responds.

What about the vermin and the neighbor’s dog, dear Hildegard. Mildred clucks.

Mildred, did I happen to mention that you’re a pain in the backside?

Numerous times, Hildegard dear, and what’s up with the old man, he’s coming later and later every morning.

Maybe he’s on his last leg.

That would be bad news, Sheila clucks.

Who said the old man’s on his last leg? Mavis clucks loudly.

Goodness sake, why’s he at the door this early? Hildegard clucks. As the hen house door opens, the hens rush into the wire pen where a young woman fills their feed bin and dumps water into the water trough. Who the heck is this? Sally questions.

Nobody I know, Nadia responds.

Clustering around the feeding bin, Harriot comments, It could be the old man’s replacement.

Several weeks later, in the early evening, an older woman shows up to do the night feeding and put the hens in to roost for the night.

As they settle in their roosts, Victoria comments, I’ve never seen that one before and she forgot to put the board across the side exit. At first light we can go out and eat whatever’s left in the feed bin.

Wonderful, Victoria, because that means we can go out but it also means vermin can get in, Hildegard scoffs.

That old woman smells like a rookie, Kathleen chuckles critically.

Hildegard clucks, Giselle came over the other day and was going on about how lucky they are to be ‘free-range’ hens. She ragged on about how much she enjoys beetles and what fun she has wrestling worms out of the garden. She’s a know-it-all-braggart and I hate her. We’ve been locked in this stuffy hen house since the day the old man brought us home. The old woman could be our one chance for a life changing experience. If she comes to feed us in the morning we could put one over on her. First, we’ll go out of the hen house through the side exit and cluster around the pen door like we’re happy to see her. If one of us gets past her, she’ll try to catch the fugitive and that’s when we swarm her. Once we’re outside it’ll be our first opportunity to experience the finer things in life, and have some fun besides. When Lily came over the other day with Giselle, she mentioned that her keeper lets them run free all day, and he only locks them in the hen house at night. Why our keeper won’t let us do the same is beyond me. Matilda, you’re the smallest, so you go to the head of the pack and the minute the old woman opens the pen door, make for the woods.

Are you out of your mind? We don’t know what’s in those woods, and the room service here has been adequate, Matilda objects.

This could be our only chance, Matilda. The old woman will be so flustered when you make a break for the woods it’ll give us the opportunity to confuse her. Besides, she looks to be as old as the old man and equally as unaware of what’s actually going on.

* * *

The following morning the old woman shows up. As she opens the pen door, Matilda jumps over the foot that the old woman is holding out in order to prevent the hens from escaping. When she reached for Matilda the other hens burst through the pen door. Not knowing which hen to grab first, and before she can collect her wits, all the hens are out.

The old woman screeches, Come back here you +!#@%#^#& senseless hens!

With all the others free and running around the yard Matilda bursts out of the woods to join her fellow rebels.

We’re free!!! Matilda clucks with delight.

The hens befuddle the old woman as they run around the yard. When she reaches for the closest hen another hen darts between her legs and so the woman tries to grab the closest hen instead, and in turn she misses both.

Come here you miserable chickens before you get yourself hurt!

By now all the hens have scattered. Harriot is on the patio, Mildred and Sheila are fluffing their feathers in the loose earth of the garden, while Nadia, Pamela and Sally have taken shelter under the lawn furniture. Hildegard, Veronica and Kathleen has gotten as far the garage. Victoria is in the near-by greenhouse plucking at the newly risen parsley, oblivious of the cat lying in the lawn chair. Nobody knows where Mavis has gotten to. The bewildered and frustrated old woman stands, hands on hips, wondering what to do next.

See, I told you we could pull this off. Hildegard cackles with glee.

After chasing the hens around the yard for almost an hour, the old woman wanders off leaving the hens to their pleasure. She knows that she could spend the entire day chasing them to no avail. She’d rather spend the day doing the things she needs to do instead of chasing crazy chickens.

As daylight fades and dusk approaches the old woman wanders back to the pen and opens the pen door and saying, Okay you hens, pick your pleasure, hen house or raccoon delight, it’s your choice.

One by one the hens march up to the open pen door and saunter past her.

As they enter the hen house to roost for the night, the woman counts them… … ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen… good all hens are present and accounted for.

Pleased, she looks at them in the pen and tells them, I hope you enjoyed your day outside my little friends, because tomorrow is going to be a completely different story.

* * *

It was almost dark when Lily and Giselle come by for a visit.

Sashaying around the outside of the wire pen, they cluck, So how was your day, neighbors?

Hildegard came out the side exit, We ate bugs, pulled worms, and ran around the yard all day. That screw-ball old woman chased us for more than an hour before she finally gave up. We had the time of our life! I tasted those delicious beetles you told me about… crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, and I wrestled a worm out of the garden and it slithered down my throat wiggling all the way. I never knew how good insects could taste. I found the caterpillars and the assortment of greens absolutely delightful. Giselle, for a change we had the upper hand and were more than just egg machines.

Just then a younger woman arrives to check on the hens. Good, Mom put the hens away. Oh dear, what’s this. Two hens were left out.

A U G W A C K! Lily clucks loudly, She has me by the leg and she’s throwing me into Hildegard’s pen. R U N … R U N, GISELLE!

After throwing Lily into the pen, the young woman chases Giselle around the yard. After cornering the poor hen in the barn, she grabs Giselle by a leg, carries her back to the pen and throws her in.

Mom should have counted the hens before she left, the young woman mutters under her breath.

The two uninvited hens stand in the pen looking terrified. This isn’t going to be a happy ending Lily, as Giselle backs away from the territorial Hildegard, who’s flashing the stink-eye at them. Now Hildegard dear, you know we didn’t ask for this…

* * *

The following morning the two women come to collect the eggs and feed the chickens. As the younger woman counts . . . … eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen… OH, OH, somethings wrong here! We should only have thirteen. Okay, who’s in here that doesn’t belong?

As her eyes fall on two rather frayed hens, Why are you missing feathers? Just then, the old woman comes out of the hen house carrying the bowl of freshly laid eggs. The younger woman declares, Mom, I’m a chicken kidnaper. We have two of the neighbor’s chickens in here and I don’t know which ones they are.

Those Rhode Island Reds all look the same to me, but your father’s hens aren’t likely to accept the intruders. We’ll throw out the hens with missing feathers and they can make their own way back home.

A few of them are missing feathers, so I’d say there was quite the ruckus in the hen house last night.

The old woman looks at the rather frayed hens, You’re right; Linda, but I don’t know what to do about it.

Looks like we need to call the neighbor and ask him to stop by and see if he can identify his hens. If not I’ll offer to buy them. The hens will be accepted eventually, but until then it will be a rough few days for those hens. Linda remarks sourly,

As the old woman stands outside the wire enclosure holding the bowl of eggs; Got me yesterday you smarty-pants hens, but as far as territorial issues, you’re on your own.

CHAPTER TWO

Hildegard Meets Rhonda

IT’S LATE MORNING more than a week later. How does the old man expect us to lay when he doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain? Mavis lets out the disgruntled cluck of a very unhappy hen as she paces up and down the hen house floor. I’ve had nothing to eat since yesterday and I’m bone dry.

Mavis, would you nip your cluck because we’re all in the same boat. I don’t know what’s going on but what bothers me is why the women haven’t taken care of us or that young man we see on occasion, where the heck is he? Hildegard ruffles her feathers and pecks at the hen house door in anger.

Listen everyone, Giselle clucks, "our coop is two farms over from here, the room