This is a continuation of the story about Pecky Greenleg and Xavier Feathersworth. Click here to read chapter 1.
This is based in fact. We really did lose one of our new roosters to an unknown assailant.
* * *
“Murder! There’s been a murder!”
“Who was it?” peeped Esther.
“Who did it?” cheeped Hilda.
“Who’s next?” asked a calm and unusually confident Pecky.
The hens fell silent. Pecky had never spoken with such authority before…and the hens didn’t like it one bit.
“Well, it won’t be me,” said Mildred.
“Oh it won’t be any of us,” snapped Esther. “It happened in the other coop, not ours.”
“That doesn’t mean it can’t happen in this one,” said Pecky.
Puffing out their feathers, they all turned their backs to Pecky and continued speculating, a bit unnerved by Pecky’s question.
They should be nervous.
He and Xavier Feathersworth had come up with a plan to eliminate all the roosters in the smaller flock.
You see, Xavier was just as miserable as Pecky. Just as picked on. Just as fed up. Last night, Xavier had carried out step one in the plan.
Sir Hubert McFeatherington, the former leader of Xavier’s flock, had disappeared without a trace.
Only a pile of feathers and 7 nervous chickens remained.
As Pecky paced the run, he saw Xavier approaching.
“Well?” said Pecky.
“It’s done.”
Pecky sighed.
“How are the others in your flock taking it?” he asked.
“They saw the attack on Sir Hubert so they’re are nervous and scared,” said Xavier.
“How did it…how did you do it?” asked Pecky.
“I made a deal.”
“A deal?!”
“I couldn’t very well do it myself,” he said defensively.
“No, I suppose not,” said Pecky. “So…what attacked him?”
“An opossum.”
“That was quite a risk,” said Pecky, eying him with shock. He’d never heard of any chicken making a deal with a predator.
Pecky was a little in awe of Xavier.
Xavier was a bit worried about “the deal”.
“Wh-what was the deal?”
Xavier turned his head and picked at a few feathers before answering.
“You.”
To be continued…
a pinch of homestead 