PROVOST] ^ ANENT A HEN 387 



ready to strike. This back-and-forth folding would seem a more 

 natural way to keep a clear field open for making a lunge than 

 would a coil of a circular form which would have to cross itself if 

 the slight forward progressive motion were to be kept up prepara- 

 tory to striking ; or instead in this latter case there would need to 

 be some side-slipping of the coils. It would be a matter for obser- 

 vation to note what really does take place with a coiled snake. 



Anent a Hen 



Eva Marain Provost 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Upon a crowded city avenue one day I chanced upon a little 

 maid wheeling her doll carriage; on the front of her vehicle, 

 suggestive of the bow of a vessel, sat that erstwhile considered 

 stupid being — a hen — receiving, with enviable self-control, the 

 smiles and comments of passing mortals. Later, I learned that 

 Queen Bess had done "her bit" in Red Cross work, having per- 

 formed at school, several tricks under the direction of her small 

 mistress. Following is the little girl's own story of her pets : 



Queen Bess and her Friends 

 Doris Gandar Smith 

 Aged 12 years 



I am going to tell you of my pet chicken. About three years 

 ago, the night before my birthday, I went into the kitchen and 

 heard "peep, peep, peep." You may imagine my surprise upon 

 seeing a box and in it three baby chicks. When they were fully 

 grown, they turned out to be two hens and a rooster. One of the 

 hens I named Lady Smith, the other. Lady Gandar, the former 

 for my own last name and the latter for my middle name. The 

 rooster I named Reddy Spruce Columbus Smith. The two hens, 

 White Rocks, had white legs. The only way that one could tell 

 the difference between them was that Lady Smith had green eyes 

 and Lady Gandar yellow eyes. 



Reddy was a buff leghorn with tail feathers of a golden color. 

 He never grew very much — as a rule, that type of rooster never 

 does: also, he never weighed over two pounds. Every evening, 

 just at five o'clock Reddy would knock at the kitchen window 



