"Somehow," he muttered, "I can't help wishing I was a speckled hen."




VI

HENRIETTA COMPLAINS


There was another member of Farmer Green's flock, besides Henrietta Hen,
that was proud. Nobody needed to look twice at the Rooster to tell that
he had an excellent opinion of himself. He had a way of walking about the
farmyard that said quite plainly that he believed himself to be a person
of great importance. And it was true that things went according to his
ideas, among the flock.

He was always spoken of as "the Rooster." For although there were other
roosters in the flock, they were both younger and smaller than he, and he
would never permit anybody to call them--in his hearing--anything but
cockerels.

These cockerels usually took great pains to keep out of the Rooster's
way. If they were careless, and he caught them napping, he was more than
likely to make matters unpleasant for them. He knew how to make their
feathers fly.

Now, Henrietta Hen thought that the Rooster behaved in a most silly
fashion. She said it pained her to see him prancing about, with his two
long, arched tail-feathers nodding as he walked. The truth was, Henrietta