The Hen. 79 







forget our legs are so short that our sharp eyes 

 are only a little way from the ground. 



" Sometimes, we take time to go into the barn 

 where Farmer Green has made our nests, and 

 there we lay nice fresh eggs. 



" My sister, Mrs. Speckle, has been sitting on 

 some eggs for about three weeks. To-day, she 

 came off the nest with her little family. 



" The little chicks look like fluffy balls on 

 legs. 



" Mrs. Speckle scratches until she finds a nice 

 bug or worm, and then calls, * Cluck, cluck,' which 

 means ' Come here, children, I have found some- 

 thing for you.' How quickly they snatch up the 

 worm or bug ! 



" We do not have to feed our babies as Mrs. 

 Robin does. At first, we scratch for them, but 

 very soon, they do this for themselves. It is very 

 funny to see young chicks try to scratch with 

 their tiny feet. 



" Mrs. Duck asks if we have teeth to grind 

 our food. No, we have no real teeth, but we 

 have something which takes their place. 



" Our food passes from the mouth into the crop, 

 and from the crop to the gizzard. Here, the 

 grinding takes place. 



