Allison the Sad Chicken

Allison was a beautiful chicken that lived on a happy farm in a lush countryside in the Midwest. Allison loved her happy farm. She had lots of other chicken friends, and the farmer took great care of them. There was lots of green grass, and trees for shade. In the distance there were grand snow-capped mountains.

Allison should have been really happy, and usually she was. One thing bothered her though. When the other hens preened their feathers, they would lay down nice and smooth. The farmer would run his hands down the chickens’ backs, and comment what pretty feathers they had. However, no matter how much Allison preened, her feathers refused to lay flat. They poked out, and curled, and refused to mind Allison’s beak.

Poor Allison felt so very ashamed of her feathers. She often hid in the barn, under the hayloft where no one could see her. She would sit and wonder why her feathers weren’t as pretty as the other hens. Why didn’t her feathers look like Stacy’s, or Fern’s, or Heather’s? The other girls tried to be nice, and say they liked the way her feathers looked, but it didn’t help how Allison felt.

When the hens went out to sit in the sun, and gaze at the mountains, Allison stayed in the barn. When farmer John threw treats out for his chickens, Allison didn’t feel like joining them. Sometimes she’d talk to the other hens when they came in the barn to sit on eggs, but mostly she just kept to herself.

One day, Allison noticed a big trailer in front of the barn. What was Farmer John doing? There was a lot of commotion while something huge came out of the back of the trailer. Allison fluttered up to the top of the stall door and had a look. What was that big thing? Suddenly, a big neigh sounded in the barn!

“Meet Kate everyone! “Farmer John proudly proclaimed to all of us. By now all the animals had crowded around the barn to see what was going on. “Kate is a draft horse! She is going to be helping me in the fields, to harvest crops for your food.” He continued.

The animals were amazed at how beautiful Kate was. Her beautiful white coat glistened in the afternoon sun. Her hooves were huge! They were the size of the tray Farmer put out full of food for the chickens. Kate was so tall! She looked as tall as the tallest trees in the yard.

“Hello everyone “said Kate. “I am so happy to be here. This looks like a really nice farm, and the mountains are so majestic. Farmer John and I will get a lot of work done in the fields to bring everyone good food to eat. Then in the evenings, we can sit together and talk over dinner.”
Farmer John went inside to eat dinner while the animals got acquainted. Kate wandered the barn yard, and talked to all the animals. She met the sheep, the goats, the cows, and the geese. Of course she met all the chickens. They were worried about her big hooves of course, but Kate set them at ease.

“Don’t worry, ladies. I am very careful of my feet. I will set them down gently, and feel for feathers before I drop my hoof. You are my friends, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
After looking around the farm, Kate wandered back in to the barn. She went to eat some yummy hay the farmer had set out. When she grabbed a mouthful, she startled Allison, who had fallen asleep in the hay!

“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Kate in surprise.” I didn’t see you there, I’m so sorry. I just wanted to get something to eat.”

“It’s okay; I guess I fell asleep here. I watched you arrive, and was just amazed at how pretty you were. And well, how big you were. By the way, I’m Allison.” She commented to her new friend.
“May I ask,” Kate inquired, “why aren’t you out in the barn yard with the other hens? They found some great food out there.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just...” Tears welled up in Allison’s eyes. “Well, my feathers aren’t as pretty as the other hens. They don’t mind my beak, and poke up everywhere. I try and try, but they just curl everywhere. I’m not pretty.”

“Oh Allison, Honey, you are a very beautiful hen.” Consoled Kate

“I am?” asked Allison

“Oh yes, Allison, you are beautiful. Your feathers are so curly and cute. They have personality! You have curly feathers because you are a sizzle chicken. God made their feathers to curl, not lay flat. He must like curly feathers, on the farm where I was born; there are lots of chickens like you. The farmer, Luke, loves them. He calls them his curly girls.” Kate explained.

As they were talking, Farmer John walked up to the barn.

“Hi Kate, I see you have found a new friend in the barnyard.” He commented happily. “What a pretty hen! I haven’t seen you around much. Where have you been hiding? I love your curly feathers; they don’t look anything like the other ladies. You should come out of the barn more often; your feathers are much too pretty to hide.”

From then on, Kate helped the farmer in the fields, and Allison joined all the hens in the warm sun and lush grass, and proudly admired the mountains. She often thanked Jesus for her beautiful curly feathers.

Chela