"All my life I have been accustomed to hatching out thirteen eggs; but
the last time there were only twelve eggs in the nest when I got ready
to set. Being experienced in these matters I knew it would never do to
set on twelve eggs, so I asked the Red Rooster for his advice.
"He considered the question carefully, and finally told me he had seen
a very nice, large egg lying on the rocks near the sugar mountain.
"'If you wish,' said he, 'I will get it for you.'
"'I am very sorry to trouble you, yet certainly I need thirteen eggs,'
I answered.
"The Red Rooster is an accommodating fowl, so away he flew, and shortly
returned with a large white egg under his wing. This egg I put with the
other twelve, and then I set faithfully on my nest for three weeks, at
the end of which time I hatched out my chickens.
"Twelve of them were as yellow and fluffy as any mother could wish. But
the one that came from the strange egg was black and awkward, and had a
large bill and sharp claws. Still thinking he was one of my children,
despite his deformity, I gave him as much care as any of them, and soon
he outgrew the others and became very big and strong.
"The Red Rooster shook his head, and said, bluntly:
"'That chick will be a great trouble to you, for it looks to me
strangely like one of our enemies, the Hawks.'
"'What!' I exclaimed, reproachfully, 'do you think one of my darling
children could possibly be a Hawk? I consider that remark almost an
insult, Mr. Rooster!'
"The Red Rooster said nothing more; but he kept away from my big, black
chick, as if really afraid of it.
"To my great grief this chick suddenly developed a very bad temper, and
one day I was obliged to reprove it for grabbing the food away from its
brothers. Suddenly it began screaming with anger, and the next moment
it sprang on me, digging its sharp claws into my back.
"While I struggled to free myself, he flew far up into the air,
carrying me with him, and uttering loud cries that filled me with
misgivings. For I now realized, when it was too late, that his voice
sounded exactly like the cry of a Hawk!
"Away and away he flew, over mountains, and valleys, and rivers, and
lakes, until at last, as I looked down, I saw a man pointing a gun at
us. A moment later he shot, and the black chick gave a scream of pain,
at the same time releasing his hold of me; so that I fell over and over
and finally fluttered to the ground.
"Then I found I had escaped one danger only to encounter another, for
as I reached the ground the man seized me and carried me under his arm
to his home. Entering the house, he said to his wife:
"'Here is a nice, fat hen for our breakfast.'
"'Put her in the coop,' replied the woman. 'After supper I will cut off
her head and pick the feathers from her body.'
"This frightened me greatly, as you may suppose, and when the man
placed me in the coop I nearly gave way to despair. But, finding myself
alone, I plucked up courage and began looking for a way to escape. To
my great joy I soon discovered that one of the slats of the coop was
loose, and, having pushed it aside, I was not long in gaining my
liberty.
"Once free, I ran away from the place as fast as possible, but did not
know in which direction to go, the country being so strange to me. So I
fluttered on, half running and half flying, until I reached the place
where an army of soldiers was encamped. If these men saw me I feared
they would also wish to eat me for breakfast; so I crept into the mouth
of a big cannon, thinking I should escape attention and be safe until
morning. Soon I fell asleep, and so sound was my slumber that the next
thing I heard was the conversation of some soldiers who stood beside
the cannon.
"'It is nearly sunrise,' said one. 'You must fire the salute. Is the
cannon loaded?'
"'Oh, yes,' answered the other. 'What shall I shoot at?'
"' Fire into the air, for then you will not hurt any one,' said the
first soldier.
"By this time I was trembling with fear, and had decided to creep out
of the cannon and take the chances of being caught, when, suddenly,
'Bang!' went the big gun, and I shot into the air with a rush like that
of a whirlwind.
"The noise nearly deafened me, and my nerves were so shattered that for
a time I was helpless. I felt myself go up and up into the air, until
soon I was far above the clouds. Then I recovered my wits, and when I
began to come down again I tried to fly. I knew the Valley of Mo must
be somewhere to the west; so I flew in that direction until I found
myself just over the Valley, when I allowed myself to flutter to the
ground.
"It seems my troubles were not yet over; for, before I had fully
recovered my breath after this long flight, your soldiers seized me and
brought me here.
"I am accused of stealing your plum-pudding; but, in truth, your
Majesty, I have been away from your kingdom for nine days, and am
therefore wholly innocent."
The Yellow Hen had scarce finished this story when the King flew into a
violent rage at the deceptions of his Wise Men, and turning to his
soldiers he ordered them to arrest the Wise Men and cast them into
prison.
Having given the unfortunate Hen a pair of gold earrings that fitted
her ears and matched her complexion, the King sent her home with many
apologies for having accused her wrongfully.
Then his Majesty seated himself in an easy chair, and pondered how best
to punish the foolish Wise Men.
"I would rather have one really Wise Man," he said to himself, "than
fifty of these, who pretend to be wise and are not."
That gave him an idea; so the next morning he ordered the Wise Men
taken to the royal kitchen, where all were run through the meat chopper
until they were ground as fine as mincemeat. Having thoroughly mixed
them, the King stirred in a handful of salt, and then made them into
one man, which the cook baked in the oven until it was well done.
"Now," said the King, "I have one Wise Man instead of several foolish
ones. Perhaps he can tell me who stole the plum-pudding."
"Certainly," replied the Wise Man. "That is quite easy. It was the
Purple Dragon."
"Good," cried the monarch; "I have discovered the truth at last!"
And so he had, as you will find by reading the next surprise.
_The Fourteenth Surprise_