Maidie kept a few chickens, and each year, since she didn’t have a rooster, she would buy half a dozen fertile eggs off a local farmer. Of course, he gave them to her for free but she always offered to pay.
Having six new chicken a year meant roughly that she had three or four new hens annually and the other two or three to hatch would grow into roosters and be tossed eventually into the pot. Of course, the older hens would get tossed into the pot as well. Maidie lived alone and how many eggs does a live-alone spinster need?
The time had come for her to put six eggs under a clucky hen, but no hen was broody. There was a solution. If she put a few roundish things in the nest at least one of the hens would mistake them for eggs and start sitting on them. The only things to vaguely resembled eggs that Maidie had were some home-grown tomatoes. She placed half a dozen in the nesting box.
Soon a discerning hen was sitting on the tomatoes. But woe! The farmer who supplied the fertile eggs was away on vacation. He wouldn’t be home for several weeks.
Not to worry. The setting of eggs could wait. The tomatoes would continue to render their services.
And then a remarkable thing happened. Before Maidie could say “Bob’s your uncle” the tomatoes hatched; into bright tropical parrots.
If you didn’t know where parrots came from, you do now. Squawk! Squawk!
Back to Index
Next Story
Previous Story