Stooopit hoomin! I sent you Part *One* yesterday. HERE is Part Two.
Part Three follows in a separate post. Sorry, I have
post-traumatic-husband-illness-induced-senility. PTHIIS!
A-
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When we left off...It was a grey, dismal day in central Massachusetts.
A thin rain hisses down, slowly melting the snow pack. There are silver
icy-cold puddles of water slicking the ground. Driveways have become
temporary stream courses. The streets are gritty with a winter's
accumulation of road sand. The only color is the deep green of the
pines. The sun's light is a frail thing, and the clouds never thin. The
sound of a family of crows off in the distance is mournful, and muffled
by the rain.
Todd's arms were beginning to tremble from the effort of holding up the
little pine door on the chicken coop. It was time to choose. Would he
wind up *in* the coop, where he had booted Hebert, or *out*, a choice
that was starting to look better and better the more he thought about
it. He let his heart choose (he simply couldn't leave Hebert in there
alone) and he leapt...
Leapt just *barely* far enough inside to be safe when the little pine
door slashed down in its track like a guillotine blade. Todd landed
paws down right next to Hebert, who was further rattled by the awful
finality of the loud report given by the slamming door.
BAMMO!!!
The light inside the coop was a muddy orange, due to the constantly
burning heat lamb bulb overhead. The albino Hebert blinked and blinked,
but his pink eyes just couldn't seem to adjust to it comfortably. He
fisted his white paws, and rubbed his eyes, then blinked rapidly a
few more times. Todd just stood in place, feeling the full weight of
gravity acting upon his rounded belly. When he landed, he landed hard,
and he had to pull a few strings of hay from off of his shoulders,
from between his paws.
The chickens, however, looked entirely cool, calm and collected in the
presence of their uninvited weasel company.It was the shapely Barred
Rock hen Tina with her black and white checks and red comb who chose
to address the presence of the two uninvited weasels in her midst.
Tina settled atop a small clutch of eggs in the nesting box and
organized her feathers to suit herself. She made herself comfortable,
and began to speak to the.....*weasels* in her coop. *Her* coop.
Tina brought her cool gaze around to first Hebert, who withered beneath
it, and then around to Todd who was feeling increasingly that he was
out of his comfort zone, Things were quiet for a time. The Barred Rock,
and her favored companion, the toffee colored Buff Orpington considered
the situation together.The two White Leghorns and the delicate,
cinnamon feathered Red Star felt more secure positioning themselves
behind the rooster, Three Bucks. (That's how much he cost. Three
bucks.) The little ferrets realized that there were factions and
alliances here that they did not understand, but were no less real
and functional for all that.
"Well..." cooed Tina. "We seem to have been invaded by weasels. No
doubt you are here to bite off all of our heads That's the sort of
thing we chickens have come to expect from your kind."With that she
gave the two little ferrets a particularly sharp sideways look, the
kind you get from a chicken right before it pecks you.
"Would you four-legged vermin like to try starting with me?" Tina cooed
in a voice that was equal parts menace and honey. Hebert was frozen in
place like a white shadow. Todd forgot to breathe. The ring of chickens
pulled in a little tighter around them....
More Tomorrow
Alexandra in MA
[Posted in FML 6275]
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