One spring day a young rooster set out on his two stout legs to build
a house of his own. On he went, a long, long way, and a long, long way
farther, and a long, long way farther than that.
Then he lifted up his voice and flapped his wings and crowed,
“Cock-a-doodle-doo.
I want a dame, I do.”
At this out from somewhere stepped a bonny, wee white hen and fared along
beside him.
On went the young rooster and the bonny, wee white hen a long, long way,
and a long, long way farther, and a long, long way farther than that.
Then the young rooster lifted up his voice, flapped his wings, and crowed,
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,
There’s room for a friend or two.”
At this out from somewhere stepped a bearded goat, and a brindled cow,
and a long-tailed horse, and a whiskered cat, and fared along beside him.
On went the young rooster, and the bonny, wee white hen, and the bearded
goat, and the brindled cow, and the long-tailed horse, and the whiskered
cat, a long, long way, and a long, long way farther, and a long, long way
farther than that.
Then the young rooster lifted up his voice, flapped his wings, and crowed,
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,
My friends, will this place do?”
The bearded goat climbed up to browse on a rocky hill near by, and said
it would. The brindled cow cropped the grass beside a running stream,
and said it would. The long-tailed horse took a mouthful from a clump
of wild oats, and said it would. The whiskered cat spied a field mouse
scurrying into her hole, and said it would. The bonny, wee white hen had
not spoken. The rooster looked about for her, so did the bearded goat,
and the brindled cow, and the long-tailed horse, and the whiskered cat,
but she was nowhere to be seen.
The young rooster lifted up his voice, flapped his wings, and crowed,
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,
Dame Hen, now where are you?”
“Cut-cut-cut-cut-cadah-cut,
Cut-cut-cut-cut-cadah-cut!”
cried the bonny, wee white hen, running out to tell him of an egg she had
laid in the long soft hay.
“Well done,” cried Father Rooster, looking very proud of her; “our
peeping chicks will soon be out of the shell.”
So then they all knew the place would do, and they set about building
the house of their own. The long-tailed horse cut down a tree for wood
with his strong teeth, the bearded goat rubbed the edges smooth with his
horns, the brindled cow carried the beams on her broad back and stood
them up in place with her forelegs, the whiskered cat sprang up and down
the beams and nailed them together, the young rooster gave the orders to
everyone, and when the house was done the bonny, wee white hen swept it
clean as a new pin.
Then they all moved in. And there they lived in this house of their own
for a year and a day, and a year and a day, and a great many more, as
happy as bees in clover.
And the young rooster was cock of the walk.
—ANGELA M. KEYES