152 THE HISTOBT OF 



down" clean, and invariably carried away the first pre- 

 mium in her class. Never was such a hen seen, before or 

 since. I was offered a hundred, two hundred, five hundred 

 dollars for her. I was poor ; but did n't I own this hen 

 "Fanny," — the extraordinary, wonderful, magnificent, coal- 

 black, blustering, but inapproachable and world-defying 

 " Fanny" ? 



" I will give you eight hundred dollars for her," said a 

 publisher to me, one day. " I want to put her in a book. 

 She 's a wonder ! a star of the first magnitude ! a diamond 

 without blemish ! a God-send to the world in 1854 ! " 



At this moment " Fanny " crowed. 



"Will you take eight hundred ? " screamed the pub- 

 lisher, jumping nearly to the ceiling. 



" No, sir." ^ 



" A thousand ? " 



" No." 



" Two thousand ? " 



" No, sir." 



" Five thousand ? " 



" No ! I will keep her." 



And I did. What was five thousand dollars to me ? Bah ! 

 I had the hen-cock " Fanny Fern." I did n't want money. 

 My pocket-book was full to bursting, and so was my head 

 with the excitement of the hen fever. And "Fanny" 

 crowed again. Ah ! what a crow was Fanny's ! " 



