“Now where has that little chick of mine run off to?” clucked Henrietta. “She’s always off exploring. I hope she hasn’t gotten into trouble again.”
Henrietta set off to look for little Jenny. Inside the chicken coop, she found the hens roosting and several chicks eating and exploring. Even proud Rooster was there watching the activity, but there was no sign of Jenny.
“Are you looking for Jenny again, Henrietta?” Matilda, one of the hens in the coop, asked. “I haven’t seen her in here for some time.”
“I wonder where she could be,” said Henrietta.
Just then, Rooster left the coop and began his morning crow.
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOO!
In a corner of the farmyard, little Jenny watched Rooster. There he goes again! Every morning he crows. It’s always the same thing. Nothing exciting happens around here. I will have to find some adventure for myself.
Jenny scampered toward the old wooden fence surrounding the farmyard. She wanted to find adventure beyond the fence.
GRRRRRR!
Jenny jumped back with a start. She looked up to see Hunter, the farmyard dog. He barked and growled. Jenny had never upset him before; she froze with fright.
“Help! Mama, help! Save me!” Jenny cried when she found her voice.
Just then Mama Henrietta came clucking along. “Stop that growling, Hunter!” she scolded the dog. “You’ve scared her badly enough.”
Hunter looked embarrassed. “I was just making sure little Jenny didn’t wander off again,” he woofed.
“Thank you,” said Henrietta. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Oh, Mama, he was so big and scary…” Jenny burst into tears when Henrietta drew her chick under her wing to comfort her.
“Now, don’t worry about Hunter. He may look big and scary, but he means no harm. His job is to protect us and keep us safe.”
“There are a lot of dangers outside of our farmyard,” Henrietta explained. “You could easily get lost or hurt if you wandered off on your own. I would be terribly sad if anything happened to you.”
“I’m sorry for trying to leave the farmyard, Mama,” Jenny said. “Sometimes I want to find new and different things to do.”
“I understand. You’ll be surprised to know that there are new and exciting things you can do around our farmyard too. It just takes a bit of imagination. Why, if you’re interested, I can show you some of the many things that kept me busy as a chick too.”
“That sounds like fun,” said Jenny. “And I’ll do my best to be careful in my adventures and stay where it’s safe. Thank you for taking good care of me!”
Sometimes you may not understand why you should or shouldn’t do something, but obeying your parents and teachers will help keep you safe.
Retold by Devon T. Sommers, based on the story “Farmyard Heroes” by Jasmine G. Moulding.
Illustrated by Max Belmont. Colored by Ana Fields. Designed by Roy Evans.Published by My Wonder Studio. Copyright © 2022 by The Family International