Jenny Hen

Jenny is a delightful red hen that lives on Finnegan Farm with other chickens but her best friend is a little girl named Molly, Molly Finnegan.  Molly loves Jenny too and they share a lot of time together in the summer meadow until one day Jenny didn't come out to play.  But Jenny has a big and wonderful surprise for Molly:  Read more to find out the surprise. 

Jenny is a pretty red hen. She lives with Molly Finnegan on a farm, on a dirt road, in a shed with a large fenced in pen.  Jenny and Molly are good friends.  Every day Molly brings Jenny special treats, corn and apples and lettuce to eat. 

Molly is a little girl.  She has green eyes and chestnut curls but Jenny is brownish red and she has no curls.  Jenny has feathers instead with a red comb on top her head. Jenny likes her little friend, little Molly Finnegan.

Every day, just about ten, Molly comes to feed the hens handfuls of corn and lettuce leaves and then Molly swings in the oak tree swing her daddy made.  It seems to Jenny that Molly can fly as she swings back and forth from the ground to the sky.

Molly swings, swings to and fro 'til over the fence Jenny Hen goes to play awhile in the meadow chasing butterflies and bees that light on asters and buttercups and daisies that Molly picks for a bouquet.  She even made Jenny a necklace of flowers and gave her a hat of queen-anne’s lace.  They play in the meadow for hours and hours almost every day, unless of course it rains.

Jenny follows Molly 'round all day 'til Molly says to Jenny Hen, “Jenny, get back in your pen,” where Jenny sits on her nest in the shed; it's time to rest.  It’s time for bed.

Every morning about eight, Mama serves eggs on Molly's plate, an egg that came from Jenny Hen that she laid for Molly Finnegan. Molly has juice and toast with them.

Jenny lays nice light brown eggs and Molly thinks that is just fine, that Jenny's eggs are the best kind.  Molly thinks brown eggs taste best, especially those from Jenny's nest. The other hens lay eggs all white and Molly says they are all right but Jenny’s eggs sure are the best so they keep Jenny’s eggs and sell the rest.   

Molly sure likes her feathered friend, Jenny, the pretty red hen who hops around and likes to play and every day lays an egg most every day.  

clucks and clucks while Molly sings; and Jenny loves the treats that Molly brings...corn on the cob and lettuce leaves, fruit and grain and cool, fresh water.  Jenny follows Molly around all day when Molly comes to the meadow to play and pick bouquets to make daisy chains except for those days when it clouds up and rains.

Jenny did not come out one day. She did not leave her nest to play, did not come to the yard to eat Molly's corn and fruit and lettuce treats.

She did not over the fence fly to chase the bees and butterflies.  Molly called and called her name but Jenny hen never came outside to play in the meadow with Molly all day.  Jenny Hen stayed in the shed sitting on her nest of hay. Molly sighed and wondered why?

Jenny stayed in the yard or sat on her nest for several day but she didn’t come out to play, not even once.  She didn’t fly over the fence when Molly came to swing.  She didn’t chase butterflies and bees. It wasn’t like Jenny to not want to play or come to the meadow to chase butterflies.  Molly was worried. Of all the hens, Jenny was special, Jenny was her friend. 

Molly had never seen Jenny act this way but Daddy said she was okay, that she was just fine and soon Jenny would come out again.

Molly asked, was Jenny ill?  Did Jenny perhaps need a pill?

Mama said Jenny was okay and would come out most any day now and that Jenny had a big surprise that Molly would like, they all surmised.  She told Molly not to worry about Jenny and served her eggs on her breakfast plate, white eggs, not the light brown eggs that Jenny lays.  Molly didn’t complain, they were all right but she sure missed Jenny with all her might and she asked about Jenny once again.

Molly, eat your breakfast and go out and play. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day.  You can put these scraps in the chicken pen,

but Molly Finnegan, don’t bother that hen. Molly sighed and went to feed the chickens and go to the meadow to pick daisies and dandelions

and dance with the butterflies. 

The very next day Molly went to the chicken yard to bring Jenny and the other chickens some fruit and lettuce and crumbled corn bread and Jenny had a big surprise for Molly.  Molly could hardly believe her eyes.

There was something new in Jenny's bed, beneath her wings all feathered red, something in the hay and straw.  Can you guess what Molly saw?

Jenny clucked and clucked awhile; then Molly smiled a great big smile.

Jenny had hatched out baby chicks, one, two, three, four, five, six; all dressed in yellow feather down.  There were six baby chicks to follow around with Jenny hen and Molly in the meadow. Then to Molly’s surprise she saw four more baby chicks, one two, three, four.  Molly counted her fingers, just to be sure. She counted to six, and then counted four more.  Six baby chicks, and then four more, she counted again and the chicks came to ten.  Oh, what a surprise, dear Jenny hen, said happy Molly Finnegan.

Jenny clucked her chicks to come out and play.  They followed Molly around all day and Molly made them daisy caps while the little chicks sat on her lap and she made a daisy crown for Jenny too.

Jenny chased butterflies and bees again and followed Molly Finnegan.  The little chicks followed Molly around the meadow and back to the shed and then Jenny tucked them all in bed in the nest beneath her wings.  Molly thinks Jenny’s chicks are the cutest things.