40 The Hen at Work 



They have good qualities, however, and in their 

 native land, where eggs are sold at so much each, 

 and poultry almost by the otince, they give their 

 breeders great satisfaction. 



I never see a Houdan without remembering one 

 which taught me a lesson in French thrift and 

 skill. My better seven eighths went forth one 

 day to market in France to procure a dinner, and 

 returned with the plumpest, roundest fowl you 

 ever saw. The little tuft of feathers on the head 

 proved it a Houdan. At once I decided that when 

 I "got home" I should raise some of these butter 

 balls. 



It was plucked, but the carcass was apparently 

 not disturbed in any way, and it was my duty to 

 prepare it for the pot. Taking a knife I opened 

 a slit to remove the entrails, and suddenly sought 

 the open window to escape the vilest odor that ever 

 saluted my nose. That specimen had been stuffed 

 with brown paper, and nothing else remained 

 within, yet there had been no cut made in the skin. 



Upon examination, we found a greenish shade 

 about the head, but until the fowl was cut, there 

 was not the slightest evidence to show that it was 

 not a choice morsel. 



