Tales of a Poultry Farm, Page 3

  THE NEW OWNER COMES

  On the morning after the family left, a pale and quiet Man, wearingglasses, came out in a platform wagon to look over the farm. He hadbeen there but a short time when two great loads of furniture appeareddown the road. Then the Man took off his coat and helped the driverscarry it all into the little farmhouse. The fowls, who happened to benear enough, noticed that the Man never lifted anything which seemedto be heavy. They noticed, too, that his hands were rather small andvery white. Still he acted as though he expected to live on the place.With the others helping him, he put down two carpets and set up twostoves.

  The other Men drove away, leaving the single Horse and the platformwagon. The Man washed his hands, put on his coat, and brought apasteboard box out onto the side porch. He opened it carefully, tookout a glass, and drew up a bucketful of water at the well. He filledhis glass and carried it back to the porch. Then he began to eat hisdinner.

  All the farm people had been properly cared for that morning by theFarmer from across the road, and felt sure that he would not see themwanting food, so it was not just a wish for something to eat whichmade every creature there come quietly to a place near the side porch.They were certain that they belonged to this Man, and they wanted tofind out what he was like.

  "I hope he isn't expecting to milk me," said Brown Bess. "I don'tbelieve he could draw a drop from my udders, and he would probably setthe stool down on the wrong side anyhow."

  Bobs and Snip were no longer on the farm, having gone to town, to workthere with their old master, so the Hog was the next to speak. "Ihope he won't eat that kind of dinner every day," said she. "It looksto me as though there would be no scraps left to go into my pail."

  "Ugh! Ugh! Stingy!" grunted the little Pigs. "He wants it all forhimself!" They did not stop to think that every time food was emptiedinto their trough, each of them acted as though he wanted every dropand crumb of it for himself.

  The Gobbler strutted up and down near the porch, with his feathers onend and his wings dragging. "There is just one thing I like about theMan," said he. "He does _not_ wear a red tie."

  "I can't tell exactly what is the matter," said the Gander, "but he iscertainly very different from any Man I ever saw before. I think hemust belong to a different breed. The things he has on his feet aremuch blacker and shinier than the Men around here wear, and that stiffand shiny white thing around his neck is much higher. I hope he is notstupid. I cannot bear stupid people."

  "Neither can we," murmured the Geese. "We really cannot bear them."

  "I fear he does not know very much," said the Drake, sadly, "althoughI must say that I like his face. He looks good and kind, not at all asthough he would ever throw stones at people for the fun of seeing themwaddle faster. What I do not like is the way in which he acted aboutgetting his water. Any Duck knows that you can tell most about peopleby the way they take water. The old gourd which the Farmer and hisfamily used so long, hung right on the chain-pump, and yet this Mangot a glass and filled it. He did not even drink from it as soon as itwas full, but filled and emptied it three times before drinking. Thatis not what I call good sense."

  "Did you notice how he put on his coat before he began to eat?" askedthe White Cock. "I never saw our Farmer do that except in very coldweather, and I have been close to the kitchen door a great many timeswhen they sat down to the table."

  "It must be that he was not very hungry," said one of the Hens, "or hewould never have taken so much time to begin eating. Besides, you cansee that he was not, by the size of his mouthfuls. He did not take asingle bite as big as he could, and you will never make me believethat a person is hungry when he eats in that way." This was the Henwho usually got the largest piece from the food-pan and swallowed itwhole to make sure of it, before any of the other fowls could overtakeher and get it away.

  Then the Barred Plymouth Rock Hen spoke. "I like him," she said. "I amsure that he belongs to a different breed, but I think it is a goodone. I remember hearing somebody say, when I was a Chicken, that itwas well for fowls to have a change of ground once in a while, andthat it would make them stronger. I believe that is why he is here.You can tell by watching him work that he is not strong, and he may behere for a change of ground. I shall certainly befriend him, whateverthe rest of you do. We people of fine families should stand by eachother." Then she strolled over toward the Man, lifting her feet in hermost aristocratic way and perking her head prettily.

  The Man smiled. He broke a piece from the slice of bread which he waseating, and sprinkled it lightly with salt from a tiny bottle. Thispiece he divided into two portions and held one out at arm's lengthtoward the Barred Plymouth Rock Hen. She had never before been invitedto eat from anybody's hand, and she was really afraid to do it. Herskin felt creepy, as though her feathers were about to stand on end.Still, she had just said that she meant to befriend the new Man, andthat he and she were of finer breeds than most people. Here was herchance to prove her words, and she was not the sort of Hen to show thewhite feather.

  She stood erect in all her Plymouth Rock dignity, and ate the bread infive pecks. Then she stooped and wiped her bill daintily on the grassat the Man's feet before strolling away again.

  You can imagine what excitement this made among the poultry. TheGobbler, the Gander, and the Drake did not wish to appear too muchinterested, and some of the Cocks acted in the same way, but themothers and sisters of the families talked of nothing else for a longtime. It is true that the Barred Plymouth Rock Hen had not been verypopular on the farm, most of the Hens insisting that she put on airs,but now they could not help admiring her courage and grace. Two orthree of them even thought she might be right in saying that it was agood thing to come from a fine family. The Cocks had never thought herairy. They always told the other Hens that it was just their notion,and that she was really a very clever and friendly Hen.

  As for the Man, he seemed much pleased by what had happened. He puthis hat on the back of his head and smiled. "That is a goodbeginning," he said to himself. "To eat bread and salt together meansthat we will always be friends, and I would rather break bread withrespectable poultry than with some Men that I know."

  Late in the afternoon, the Man harnessed his Horse, whom he calledBrownie, to the same platform wagon in which he had come, gave oneparting look all around the house and yard, turned the key in the sidedoor, and drove off toward town. "What next?" asked all the poultry.

  If you had ever been a Hen or a Duck or a Turkey or a Goose (foralthough you may have acted like a perfect Goose, you probably neverhave been one), you would know just how worried the poultry on thisparticular farm were, after the new Man had driven away in theplatform wagon. It seemed quite certain that he had gone to town tobring out his family, and it mattered a great deal to them what hisfamily were like. A single Boy of the wrong kind could make all thefowls on the place unhappy, and the others agreed with the Gobblerwhen he said, "There is one thing worse than a Girl in a red dress,and that is a Boy who throws stones."

  It was a very sad company which wandered around the farmyard, pickinghere and there, and really eating but little. The White Cock wouldkeep talking about the dreadful things which might happen, andreminded his friends that there might be two Boys, or three, or four,perhaps even five in the family! The other fowls soon tried to getaway from him, and then they were often so unfortunate as to meet theBrown Hen, who was fussing and worrying for fear the Man would shuther up in a small yard.

  At last the Shanghai Cock lost his temper, as he was very apt to do,and said that there were some fowls he would like to have shut up.This displeased both the White Cock and the Brown Hen, because theShanghai Cock had looked at both of them when he spoke, using one eyefor each, and they did not know what to say. They thought from themean little cackling laugh which the others gave, that he might havewished them to shut up their bills. Then they did the very best thingthat they could have done, going off together to the pasture, whereeach could talk gloomily to the other without annoying anybody else.<
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  When Brownie came jogging back to the farm, the platform wagon lookedvery gay. On the back seat sat a pleasant looking Woman with a fatBaby on her lap. Beside her sat a Little Girl with brown hair. On theseat beside the Man sat another Little Girl, dressed exactly like thefirst one and just as large as she, but with golden hair. They wereall laughing and talking and pointing at different things as theydrove into the yard.

  "It is not much like our other home," said the Man, as he set the Babyon his feet beside the steps, and turned to help the Woman out.

  "That does not matter if we can be comfortable and well here," sheanswered with a smile. "It will be a lovely place for the children,and I believe it will make you strong again."

  "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" said the young Cock from the top rail of thefence. He did it only to show off, but the children, who had neverlived on a farm, and so could not understand poultry-talk very well,felt sure that he said, "How-do-you-all-do?" and thought himexceedingly polite. The Baby started after him at once, and fell flatbefore he had taken six steps.

  "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" SAID THE YOUNG COCK. _Page 26_]

  The Man, the Woman, and the two Little Girls all started to pick upthe Baby, who was so wound up in his long cloak that he could notrise. Brownie looked around in a friendly way and stood perfectlystill, instead of edging off toward the barn as some Horses would havedone, while the Baby just rolled over on his back and laughed.

  "Gobble-gobble-gobble!" said the Gobbler. "I think this family willsuit us very well."

  The Barred Plymouth Rock Hen was too polite a fowl ever to say "I toldyou so," but she stood very straight and chuckled softly to herself,so the rest could know that she was pleased with what she saw, andfelt more certain than ever that the Man and his family were no commonpeople.

  All the family went to the barn with the Man while he unharnessedBrownie and gave him his supper. The children had a happy time on thehay, and, before they went into the house together, the Man put somecorn in a pan and let them scatter it by the door for the poultry."They have been running loose in the fields," he said, "and they maynot need it all, but we will give it to them anyway, and to-morrow Iwill study my book of directions and see how they should be fed atthis season."

  The children scattered the corn, the Woman kneeling down with her armaround the Baby, to keep him from falling over each time that he threwa few kernels. The Barred Plymouth Rock Hen was the first to comeforward to pick it up, and the Man told his wife how he and she hadeaten bread and salt at noon.

  Then the Woman said: "Come, we must go into the house! I should havebeen there working long ago, but I wanted to see the children makefriends with the poultry."

  As the door of the house closed behind its new inmates, the BarredPlymouth Rock Hen could not help looking at the Shanghai Cock. "Yes,"he said, for he knew what she meant, "I like your friends very much.They seem to have some sense." Then the Barred Plymouth Rock Hen wassatisfied, for she was fond of the Shanghai Cock, and praise from himwas praise indeed.