One Hundred Eggs for Henrietta (2 page)

She continued to explain, as they swam to the edge of the pond, “In two days it will be Easter Sunday and Farmer Johnson has invited all the children in town for an Easter Egg Hunt. My chickens are doing the best they can but we are fifty eggs short. You have feathers. You are birds like us. You lay eggs. Would you help us by laying enough eggs for the hunt?”

“Of course.
Of course.
We’d love to help,” announced one of the swans, speaking for the whole group.

“Yes, yes. We’d love to help,” piped up one of the other water birds.

“Thank you all,” replied Henrietta, as she headed off to solve the next problem on her list. Eggs were one thing but coloring them was another.

Fortunately Farmer Johnson had rows and rows of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and boysenberries – all perfect coloring materials. But who would be careful enough to do the dyeing?

Aha, she thought, the rabbits! Bunny rabbits have soft paws, just right for holding eggs, as long as the bunnies didn’t eat the eggs in the process. Of course the eggs would be hard-boiled by the time they would be given to the rabbits to dye. But still, every egg must be handled carefully, remaining whole and uncracked, and perfect for the child who would find it.

“Here, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny,” called Henrietta.

Out scampered five very perky bunnies, each wondering what a chicken could want with them.

“I need your help. Farmer Johnson is having a big Easter egg party here on Sunday and we need to prepare the eggs. The eggs are being laid as we speak but they need to be colored. Could you take the berries in the berry patch, crush them and gently dye each egg?”

Proud that they had been asked to help with the festivities, the rabbits all agreed that they were on board. They were ready and willing to dye the eggs.

“Thank you, thank you,” Henrietta called back to them while she headed off to solve another problem on her list.

Who would she find to hide the eggs? Who were the sneakiest animals on the farm? The cats! They knew every nook and cranny on the property. They would surely find the best hiding places.

“Here, Kitty, Kitty. Here, Kitty, Kitty,” she called. A few seconds later three multi-colored calico cats appeared.

Hardly ever are chickens and cats seen together. However this was a desperate situation -- she needed their help.

The cats stood patiently as Henrietta explained, “Could you three cats hide one hundred dyed eggs in the middle of the night before the children arrive on Sunday morning?” She knew this was a lot to ask. She held her breath, hoping for the best.

The cats proudly said, “Yes, we could even hide two hundred eggs if it were necessary.”

“No, no,” said Henrietta, very grateful that the cats wished to lend a hand -- or paw. “Thank you, thank you,” she yelled, as she ran off again. “I’ll be in touch.”

That was it. That was the last problem to be handled on Henrietta’s list. Now they just had to do it.

For the next two days, Henrietta ran from the henhouse to the duck pond to the rabbits in the field all the while collecting, carrying and counting eggs.

Eighty-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, they were getting closer. However the hens were getting weaker, the water birds were looking paler, and the bunnies’ paws were becoming stained and sore. On and on they labored.