1. Time passed on, and Betty grew fast in size and beauty. Her mistress
made up her mind to send her to the Poultry Show at the Crystal Palace.
2. The cook and all who saw her said that Betty ought to go, her beauty
was so great. She was quite a perfect pattern of what a white hen of
her sort ought to be.
3. She would be certain to win a first prize of the first class, they
all thought. Poor Betty! From the day that it was settled for her to go
to the Poultry Show her troubles began.
4. When first it was made known in the yard she became rather vain, in
spite of all that her mother could say. The fact was that the old hen
felt proud of it herself, and Betty knew it.
5. She would be always pluming the feathers of her daughter, cackling
loudly, and calling to strange chickens to come and admire the lovely
back and smooth wings of her child.
[Illustration: COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!]
6. The young cocks from next door sat on the railings to chatter, and
even forgot to quarrel. They stared at Miss Betty as she walked with
her beak in the air, and they made rude remarks.
7. "Why don't you grow a pair of spurs and learn to crow?" they called
out. When Mrs. Dorking, Betty's mother, heard these speeches from the
young cocks she flew into a great passion.
8. "I will set the dog at you, you young scamps, if you do not be off
this moment," cried she. So they dropped off one by one, for they did
not know that the old hen was not able to carry out her threat.
9. As Betty became vain she became idle too. Instead of making her
mother and sisters happy with her pretty playful ways, and making
herself useful and pleasant at home, she grew pettish.
10. And instead of working to help earn her own living, by catching
flies, scratching up worms, and watching under the old oak tree for
cock-chafers, she would lose patience, and call loudly to the cook to
bring her food.
11. And, strange to say, the cook would come too, and, not content with
waiting on Betty, would drive away each fowl and chick that came up to
share what she had brought.
12. She let none of them have a bit till Betty had eaten all that she
pleased. Was not this enough to spoil any young hen? Betty was fast
getting pert. All this was because of her good looks and her five toes.
13. You will see after a while that she would have been more happy if
she had been born ugly, or with four toes, like her sisters.
* * * * *
_Write:_ Betty was to go to a show. She grew vain when she heard this.
And as she became vain she grew idle too. She was spoilt.
Questions: 1. Where did Betty's mistress think of sending
her? 2. What did they all think that she would get at the
show? 3. What made her grow proud? 4. What did she do
instead of earning her living? 5. What did the young cocks
say? 6. What answer did the old hen make to them?