i6 



to the nest, afraid that something might have hap- 

 pened to those wonderful eggs. 



Little Brown Hen must have been rather aston- 

 ished at the size of the chickens she hatched out. 



However, she led them forth bravely. She 

 scratched and clucked for them just as all hens do, 

 and was busy from morning till night. 



But how those chicks did grow ! Soon they 

 were so large that when they tried to find . shelter 

 under the little hen's wings at night they fairly 

 lifted her from the ground. 



Sometimes she looked a little uncomfortable, but 

 still she clucked bravely, and tried to make room 

 for them all under her wings. 



Soon they quite outstripped her in size. They 

 were taller than she was — ^great, ungainly, half- 

 fledged things. 



It was funny to see Little Brown Hen scratch- 

 ing away for chickens so much bigger than herself, 

 and to see the long-legged things run when she 

 called them to a worm she 'had found. 



At last they grew too big for Little Brown Hen 

 to pretend any longer that they needed her care. 



She began to think about sitting again, and we 

 decided to give her some duck's eggs. 



