THE STRANGE CASE OF OUT BACK OF THE CHICKEN COOP

It was a morning like many mornings that came before it. Wetness was on the leaves and grass, and birds twirped and chattered in the bushes and trees. Dogs yelped and the cows bellowed for their breakfast. But the people- they were quiet. No cars. No telephones ringing No lawnmowers moving. Not a human voice.

Bud climbed from his bunk and stretched awake. His mother and father were nowhere in the house. A swirl of smoke eddied from the toaster oven, burning frozen waffles. He noticed the quiet. Finding no clue, he hurriedly dressed and chewing upon an apple, ventured outside. Puzzled by a small crowd next to the barn across the street, he tip toed over there.

As he neared he could hear empty gasps, and subdued exclamation. Being of average height, he could not immediately fathom what the group had gathered around of such interest. Pushing forward and elbowing, he saw, and he too was awe struck.

Farmer Bill had hoisted in his work-a-day hand an extremely large egg. It was the biggest egg anyone had ever seen come from a chicken. It was stupendous. A tv camera was there, and alternated from the egg in Farmer Bill's proud fist, to the proud mother hen, (Sunshine) who seemed to like all the attention. She was clucking happy and folks were tossing prized meal worms to her eager beak. The egg was about six inches long.

Meanwhile, the rooster involved was not happy. He was being shooed away from the camera and instead of meal worms he was left to glean some cracked corn from the dust. The news cameras wanted nothing of him. So he crew and he crew, and made himself sick with disappointment. He fluttered to the top of the house where he stayed for days, a very bitter and disappointed bird.

Farmer Bill took notice, however, and he introduced Jack the rooster to a fine young hen. So he crew and he crew, and the lived out his days as a happy rooster, and all his offspring came from extremely large eggs.

[James Riva's signature]
James Riva W38533
OCCC
1 Administration Rd.
Bridgewater, MA 02324