A SAGACIOUS HEN.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3200, 30 September 1881, Page 3

A SAGACIOUS HEN.

" How d'ye do ?" he asked, with a grin of familiar recognition. " Don't seem to know me, do ye ? I was in here last fall and give yer some anecdotes about some snakes down in my parts. Remember ?" " Yes," growled the city editor, " I recollect you. All your snake stories were lies, and we got letters from all oyer town saying so. What do you £want now?" "You don't tell me," ruminated the snake man, smoothing his hat softly. " Lies, was they ? Mebbe the parties as writ to yer knowed more about them snakes than me. P'rhaps what I come to tell yer about my speckled hen with a blue hackle is all lies too." "What ha 3 she done?" "She's done more'n the snakes, and if the snakes war lie 3 that hen's a whopper, that's all I can say," and he looked deeply injured. " Tell us about her, anyway," said the city editor. " Yer hearn about the cat that hatched chickens, I reckon. Well, my old speckled hen's been discountin' that cat. She's hatched four brood of kittens —one in each brood." " Oh, go home and sleep it off!" recommended the indignant city editor. ' Fact! Four brood, and one to tho brood. I seen her gettin' restless and setten around on things and tried for to knock her out of the idea. No use. She'd set onto a hot flat iron but what she'd set. Fust she hatched an old milk pail into tin cups, and then she squatted on some dough that was sot to rise, and I'm allugged if she didn't hatch out a dozen biscuits and then tried to learn 'em to swim. I seen she was gettin' right broody, and I says to the old woman, says I, ' Mar, sumpii. must be done for the speckled hen with the blue hackle.' Mar tumbled to the idee, and says she,'Yer bet yer life!' so with that we figgered what we'd best do. While we was figgerin' she sot on a load o' cord wood, and I'll eat a grind-stun if it didn't come out all sawed and split. I'm tellin' yer this so yer won't think the kittens were unnat'ral. Well, Mar and me figgered, and while we was flggerin' the speckled hen was figgerin' too. She hopped on to a bar'l o' scrap iron, and I'm drunk if she didn't whack out two hundred papers o' tacks. We seen that stimpin' had got for to be done right off, but before we hit onto the scheme, yer can lick me if a tornado didn't take the roof off'n my house. Of course, yer know, wo forgot the old hen for a few days. Dog my skin if she didn't set on a pump handle and hatch it into tooth picks. Sure's yer born. Sure's yer born. Somehow my reapin' machine got under her one night, and the next morning' it was railroad spikes. Yer never seen nothin' like it. She was bent for to set. I'll tell yer. There was three hard shell clams out in the yard, and she set on 'em and hatched out lobsters. If she didn't, I'm a liar." "No doubt of it. But how about the kittens ?" Well, the men came to put a new roof on the house; got there just before dinner, and left their tools in the yard. I seen the old hen watchin' them tools, but I didn't think no harm. Just before that " "Never mind anything else. Come down to the cats." " Jist so. While we were at dinner I seen her oxplorin' around, and I didn't know from what happened the day before " "Drop that?" said the city editor, sternly. " Give us the four brood of cats, one in a brood." " Well, the four workman was at dinner, and the old speckled hen with a blue hackle was nosin' around, and says Ito Mar,' Mar' " " Out with those cats, quick," aud the city editor took down a scythe. "Certainly. Tho tools was outside, you know, four sets on 'em, in—what's this they carry tools in ?" " A kit ?" " And that old speckled hen sot on them four kits, and if she didn't hatch out four brood o' " Parties desiring to exchange a new scythe for a second-hand one, somewhat out. of repair, will please apply to the Eagle office for two days. — Brooklyn Eagle.