When the hens had laid their eggs, they went out into the road and sat down in the dust and scratched the dust up all over themselves, for they liked the warm dust in among their feathers. And they stayed there until they were hungry again. Then they scratched around in the dirt, and ate some more bugs and worms, and the things that Aunt Deborah threw out for them to eat. And so they did until it began to get dark.
Then they all walked along to the orchard or to some other trees, and they stood under the trees, and looked up and gave queer little jumps and flapped their wings, and they flew up into the trees and sat on the branches. And they went along the branches sideways until they had found the places they liked. Then they squatted down and put their heads under their wings and went to sleep.
And that's all.
[XVIII.]
THE SHAWL STORY
NCE upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and had green blinds; and it stood not far from the road. This farm was Uncle Solomon's. But before he had the farm, he was a sailor, and he sailed in great ships, over the great enormous ocean. A great many ships used to sail from Boston, over the big ocean, carrying different things to far countries, and one of these ships was the brig Industry. Uncle Solomon was the captain of the brig Industry, but that was when he was a young man, and a long time before he had the farm.
One day the brig Industry was lying beside the wharf at Boston, and she was tied to the wharf with great ropes. And all the things had been put in the ship, the things they were to sell in the far country where they were going, and the things to eat, and the water they would drink. For the ocean water is salt and bitter, so that people can't drink it, and they had to carry all the water that they would need to drink and almost all the things they would need to eat. The water was in big hogsheads, down near the bottom of the ship. The sailors were all on the ship, and everything was all ready to start. Then Captain Solomon walked down the wharf, and he got on the ship, and the great ropes were untied, and the sailors hoisted the sails, and the ship sailed away from the wharf. She sailed down the harbour and past the islands and out into the great ocean.
So the wind kept blowing, and the Industry kept sailing along over the ocean for a great many days. She sailed along, through parts of the ocean where it is always hot and where it rains a great deal, and past the country where the monkeys live, and around the end of that country. And after awhile Captain Solomon saw some land, and he knew it was an island where no people lived, but where beautiful clear water ran out of a crack in the rock. So he made the ship go near that island, and then the sailors fixed the sails so that the ship wouldn't go ahead. And the sailors let down one of the rowboats into the water. For every big ship has some rowboats that are hung up over the deck. And they took all the hogsheads of water and emptied out what water was left. Then they put in the bungs and tied all the hogsheads together with ropes that went between them, and they threw them over the side of the ship into the water. Then the sailors in the rowboat caught the end of the rope and rowed, and they went to the island, dragging the hogsheads that floated on the top of the water. And they filled the hogsheads with nice fresh water that came out of the rock, and then they rowed back to the ship, dragging the hogsheads.