Where Do Chickens Come From?

The worst and best things all happened yesterday it seemed (not really), but my wonderful adorable sweet precious chicken Mama, Miss Chicken, got all torn up by a "bad and horrible" raccoon, and so did one of her little babies. Aurgh! Miss Chicken was so much fun to be around, the way her tiny children would poke their curious heads out from under her wings, the way she pecked up the best morsels of food and gave them to her beloveds, and the way she protected them from every possible danger. Can you believe I let my dog sleep at the foot of the bed, all comfortable and lazy, while my own dear hen was being murdered right in front of her family? I felt such sorrow all day. In the evening I thought the four little babies still running around the yard would go to bed in their mother's nest. Instead they flew up and roosted in the akebia vine, and ate some of the little purple flowers while they were getting settled in. Like they were big chickens now and had to take care of themselves. However, when it got dark I snatched them all up, gently of course, and tucked them into a cage. Just for the time being until I catch the coon.

The wonderful stone lithograph is by the d'Aulaires, Don't Count Your Chicks, available here: http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwacorna-20?node=19&page=2 Any books by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire are treasures - classics by the first husband and wife team to bring ancient myths and other magic to life for children.