“May I have it? May I have it?” she cried, and Mrs. Denville said, “Certainly, if you will explain to Mrs. Gleason how you got it.”
“Why, here are more nest eggs,” said Mrs. Denville, and she examined the other boxes, “and quite a number of eggs. We must get a basket, and come up here for the fresh eggs every day. It will amuse you, Mary, and save Mrs. Gleason trouble.”
The gray hen after drinking all she wished, had taken to cackling.
“Poor biddy, biddy,” said Mrs. Denville in a clear voice, “Mary and I will bring you up some food.”
The moment she made that promise, she had more claimants on her favor. I never saw anything more funny than the way in which more hens arrived after she raised her voice. They seemed actually to spring out of the earth, and little Mary squealed with delight.
First of all, a big, white rooster came running round the corner of the hen-house, his legs just sticking out behind him. He drew up quickly when he saw Mrs. Denville, as if to say, “Why, here is a stranger, what are you calling us for?” Then, as if persuaded that she had something for him, he glanced over his shoulder, and called to the hens, “Kut, kut, ka, da dee. Come on, girls, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
The girls came cackling, running, complaining, and pushing for front places.
Mary was very much disappointed to think that she had nothing for them. Mrs. Denville, however, found a little mixed grain covered up in a box and this she gave to Mary.
Oh! how tame those hens were. They crowded round my little mistress, and ate from her hand, and I nearly collapsed with laughter as I listened to their talk. Mary and her mother could not understand them, but I did.
“Kut, kut, girls,” said the rooster, “these strangers have good faces. Must be some relation to the Gleasons. Don't be frightened, girls. Stuff yourselves all you can. We don't get much grain these days since we are allowed to run in the orchard. A little corn sits well on the angleworms in the crop. Hurry up, girls, the sun is getting high, there are lots of eggs to be laid.”