They went to their lessons. They had never felt so melancholy before, and they were not able to play at all. Their mama took them a long walk, and talked with them, and told them some stories that encouraged them to be earnest in faithfully doing whatever they knew they ought to do.
Next morning, when they were dressed, they stood doubtfully looking at their mama. They were not sure whether she meant to trust them any more; and when she told them to go and let Fairy out they felt grateful to her. They could not help hoping that even this morning some of the chickens might have come out, as Mary had said they might. They looked anxiously in, but the eggs lay as they had always done; no chickens had come out yet. They did not think of play, but remained near the door till Fairy came back to it.
Many were the questions they put to Mary that day as to her expectations, and many a guess did they make between themselves as to the next day. When morning came, the twenty-first morning so long expected, they felt afraid to go to look at the eggs, so fearful were they that no signs of chickens would be there. How different they would have felt if they had not forgotten their work that unlucky morning. They begged their mama to go with them, and she agreed.
They opened the door; Fairy seemed unwilling to move, and their mama was obliged to lift her off. They watched with beating hearts, but were disappointed. No egg was even chipped, and no chickens were to be seen.
"Do not quite despair yet," said their mama. "Any time to-day or in the night they may come. It was not unlikely, after such a check as the eggs had, that there might be some delay. You must shew your self-denial by not coming to disturb Fairy. The best thing we can do for her is to let her quite alone," When they had shut her in again they went to breakfast, with many fears, notwithstanding their mama's words of comfort. They obeyed her by not returning to the nest, and only went the last thing before going to bed, with her permission, to listen for a chirp. But all was quiet.
Again, when morning came they begged of their mama to go with them, to help them to bear it, if there was no hope. All three went, and Rose with trembling fingers opened the door. "O look! look!" cried Harry in a tone of joy. He had seen a little bright black eye peeping from under Fairy's wing. And now they saw another, and two or three beaks. All was safe. The eggs had not been spoiled.
Before anything more could be done, they both threw their arms round their mama, kissed her, and almost danced for joy. She then lifted Fairy up, pecking and screaming, and put her on the floor to eat her barley. In the nest there were nine pretty little soft chickens, looking like balls of down, some entirely yellow, others speckled with brown, one quite black. There was, besides, an egg with a beak poking out at one end, and another cracked at the end.
Rose and Harry wanted to run for some food; but their mama said it would be better to wait till the rest had come out, for that young chickens did not require to be fed for several hours after they were hatched. She removed the broken shells, and shook the eggs gently that shewed no signs of cracking, and by doing so found they were bad and threw them away. How happily Rose and Harry went to breakfast now! Still more happy were they when their mama told them that she meant to trust them with the care of the young brood. They felt that they should never forget the lesson they had received, and were not afraid to take the charge. She gave them the proper food, and shewed them how to set about their work. When they returned to Fairy in the afternoon, they found the two remaining chickens had come out, and they took her down and put all on the ground, and had the great pleasure of seeing the little things begin to peck and to drink water. By their constant care they reared all the chickens but one, which hurt itself in trying to get through a narrow slit in the gate and died; but all the other ten grew up. Every morning and afternoon, Rose and Harry took them their food, and Mary often said, as she looked at them, that she never saw chickens thrive so well. They got so strong that they used to stray away, and it often took Fairy some time before she could collect more than two or three round her; but all were sure to come at last. Everything went on as happily as before with Rose and Harry; they enjoyed their game in the garden and all their other play, but they often remembered their mama's words, and tried never to let pleasure make them forget their duty.
