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| Twelve o'clock around the circle: Blondie, Silver, Goldie, Blackie, Brownie peck their oatmeal |
Lickety-split, Silver, Blackie, Goldie, and Brownie left their pecking and scratching and rushed to Blondie’s side.
The five hens huddled and gazed upward, their beaks apart in awe of the red, sinking sun.
Brownie couldn’t contain her absolute pleasure. “Errrrrr,” she trilled. “Red is my favorite color.”
The sisters sang their humming song, for every hen is fond of red. “All is well on the farm.”
The sun slid behind the pines and set them afire. Clouds the colors of Lee’s heirloom tomatoes streaked the sky.
“What a doozy!” Goldie whispered.
“Magnificent!” Blackie agreed.
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| Goldie and Silver drink from their pen water dish |
“This is the best seat under the house for the day’s grand finale,” Silver said.
“Bock,” agreed Goldie.
“There’s no other place I prefer,” said Blackie.
Brownie pointed a wing westward. “There she goooes!”
The sun vanished and provoked long leg stretches amongst the clutch. Goldie led the way up the ramp and through the chute. They took one last drink of water and flew up to roost.
“Thank you, Blondie,” said Blackie. “We would’ve missed the show without your alert.”
Blondie didn’t answer. Matter of fact, she wasn’t in her usual spot on the top pole. And she faced the wall instead of the window! Clearly, Blondie was not her usual bossy self.
Blackie turned around on the post and caught the gleam of a tear in Blondie’s eye. “What’s wrong, Blondie? You look saaad.”
Blondie nodded. “Lee pulled up her red geraniums today from her black cauldron in the pine cove.”
The hens heard Blondie’s tear fall onto the straw. With a great deal of toe and wing maneuvering, Brownie, Silver, and Goldie also turned to face the wall.
“We all miss Lee’s red geraniums, Blondie,” said Silver. “They were beauuutiful this summer, weren’t they?”
“Buuuook,” Blondie said with a sniffle. “And it’s going to be a looong winter. I feel it in my toes. We’ll be all cooped up for months! No dust baths under the house!”
Just then, they heard Lem’s voice and the house door opened. “Hello Girls! Getting down to thirty degrees tonight, so I’m turning on your heat lamp.”
Lem furrowed his brows when he saw the hens facing the wall. “What’s up? Don’t you girls know you have the best seat on the farm to watch the sunrise?” Lem glanced at their water and grain and closed the door.
“See what I mean!” Blondie blurted.
Her sisters shrugged their wings in exasperation.
“Please, Blondie,” Blackie said. “Compose yourself and tell us what you mean.”
The hens waited patiently without a scratch here and there.
“Well, remember when Lem and Lee went on vacation?” Blondie asked.
Her sisters nodded.
Blondie took a deep breath. “Remember how nice our critter sitters were, and I said ‘Let’s give Lem and Lee the cooold shoulder when they return?’”
Silver, Blackie, Goldie, and Brownie blushed.
Blondie hung her head. “We were unkind. Lem and Lee thank us for every egg we lay. They bring us oatmeal almost every day. I feel aaawful we turned our backs on them.”
“I feel aaawful, too,” said Brownie.
“So do I,” chimed Silver, Blackie, and Goldie.
The weight of shame lifted from Blondie’s breast.
Next morning, the hens cracked their eyes open to the first sunbeam and jumped down from the roost. They pecked and waited for Lem at the pen door.
“All is well on the farm,” they squawked a happy song as Lem walked down the hill.
