"Look! Come quick!" he shouted to the household. "A marsh hen's coming to pay us a call!"
Maureen hurried into the room to see. Grandpa and Grandma almost collided, trying to get through the door at the same time.
"Jumpin' mullets!" Grandpa whistled. "In all my born days I never see a marsh hen walkin' on dry ground."
"Can't say I have either," Grandma agreed. "They're timid folk, ain't they?"
"Yup, only feel safe in a marsh, like a rabbit in a briar patch."
"I saw one, one day," Paul said, "walk right across the causeway."
"Pshaw!" Grandpa whittled him down to size. "Everyone's seen 'em do that. They're just makin' a quick trip acrost, from one marsh to another. But this little hen has made a journey. For her it's like travelin' to the moon."