*****
Tickle Box
One Feather
Once, there came a time in the little community of Sycamore Valley that will never be forgotten. It is probably still talked about to this day. It all took place one day on Jimmy Bob Kunnecke’s farm. Jimmy Bob lived on Dogleg Creek which was located off the main road. However, the rooftops of the house and barn were visible from the main road. The only way to get to the house was to cross over the creek by either driving across the creek bed or parking and walking across the foot-log bridge. Jimmy Bob was a pretty good fellow. Everyone liked him and spoke well of him. He was a good neighbor and a kind friend.
At the time this all happened, Jimmy Bob had an old rooster named One Feather who helped him on the farm. One Feather’s real name was Clifford Eugene. The reason they call him One Feather was because he had lost all of his feathers except the one on his tail. He was Jimmy Bob’s right hand man…rooster, I mean. However, One Feather had a slight problem. He was nearly blind and could hardly see a thing even though he wouldn’t admit it. The only way he knew when to crow was from the warmth of the sun hitting his face during sunrise. Some say he would stand beside the fence, flap his wings, fly up to the fence to crow, miss the fence rail and land on the other side. Even though he missed the fence, he still thought he was on top of the fence and he would crow as loud as he could. He never did figure it out.
One day as Jimmy Bob was talking with his neighbor, Jack, One Feather overheard that he had a new chicken coming in and he was going to get him to show her around the farm. When One Feather heard that, he was so excited that he hurried off to the henhouse while Jimmy Bob continued talking with Jack.
“Jimmy, did you hear about the wreck down the road this morning?” Jack asked.
“No, I didn’t,” he replied. “Was it very bad?”
“No, it wasn’t. It was a truck carrying some animals to the Pine Tree Falls Zoo. But they did report that one of the ostriches is missing; they’re looking for it now.”
“Well, if I see it,” replied Jimmy Bob, “I’ll call the zoo. Well, I have to go to town and pick up some feed at the mill. I’ll talk to you later, Jack.”
“Okay, Jimmy, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, One Feather was back at the henhouse combing his comb. He was getting his feather spruced up so he could show the new chick around. When One Feather stepped out of the henhouse into the yard, he saw a faint shadow in the nearby field. Quickly, he ruffled up his feather a bit, threw his head back and stuck his one tail feather straight up in the air. He cautiously strolled over to the field and approached the shadow. It was the missing ostrich. He stood beside the ostrich and looked at it from head to toe.
“Holy cow!” he shouted. “Look how tall that chicken is!”
The ostrich quickly turned its head and hissed. She tapped him on the head with a quick peck, not once, not twice, but three times.
“Watch it, girl,” he said. “I’m not your dinner.”
The ostrich strutted about, bobbed her head in the air and waved her long neck from side to side.
“Yee doggy!” shouted One Feather. “Check out the long legs on that baby. Now, girl,” he said, “you need to settle down. My name is Eugene and I’m here to show you around Jimmy Bob’s farm.”
“Hiss,” went the ostrich as she quickly stuck her head into the ground.
“Now, girl,” he said, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But, you are going to have to get your head out of that hole if you are going to see the farm.”
Slowly, the Ostrich took her head out and pecked him on the head a time or two.
“You’re going to have to quit that, girl. It’s giving me a headache.”
One Feather and the ostrich took off across the field toward the barnyard; One Feather wanted to introduce her to the other hens.
“Hey, girls!” he yelled. “This is the newest member to the farm. I don’t know her name yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”
Everyone gathered around. The hens looked the ostrich over from head to toe. They whispered, clucked and squawked amongst themselves. It was the biggest chicken they had ever seen.
“Girls, girls, girls, I know what you must be thinking. How are we going to get this big chicken through that little door of the henhouse? Well, girls, don’t worry about that. I have it all figured out. I’ll make the door bigger.”
The hens clucked not once, but twice and fell flat on their backs with their feet sticking up in the air.
“Come on, girl,” said One Feather. “Let me introduce you to the others.”
Peck, peck, peck went the ostrich on top of his head.
“Come on, now,” he replied. “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m not your lunch?”
They strolled about the farm; he introduced her to Mr. Cow, Mamie Mule and Charlie Horse. When they went around the corner of the barn, they came upon Hog.
“Hey, fellow,” said One Feather, “how’s it going?”
“Oh, it’s going,” replied Hog.
“Who’s your running buddy?” questioned Hog.
“This is…well, I really don’t know her name. She hasn’t told me and she doesn’t say much. Anyway, she is the newest member of the farm and I’m sort of showing her around.”
“I see,” said Hog, “snort, snort. But, don’t you think she is a little…a little strange,” he whispered, “snort, snort, snort.”
The ostrich quickly buried her head into the mud.
“See there, Hog,” he said. “You have embarrassed her. She is really sensitive.”
“Are you sure she’s not a hog?” asked Hog. “After all she does have her head in my mud.”
“Well, Hog, I’ll see you later. Come on, girl, let’s go.”
She took her head out of the mud and shook her head from side to side to get some of the mud off.
“Watch it, girl. You’re getting mud on me,” yelled One Feather.
One Feather took off running across the field toward the pond with the ostrich right behind him.
“This is Mary Duck and her friends, Samantha Swan and Benny Goose.”
“Ribbitt, ribbitt, ribbitt, croak…” sounded the frogs.
“And oh, yes, Froggie, and his bunch,” proclaimed One Feather.
About that time, the ostrich hissed and pecked him on his head twice.
“Now, girl, you’re going to have to stop that,” he said as he felt of his head. “The top of my head already feels like a washboard.”
They said their good-byes and headed back across the field.
“You don’t have a lot to say,” he said. “Do you have a name?”
The ostrich just hissed and flapped her wings.
“Well, I’ll just give you a nickname like they gave me. Let’s see. What can I call you…Sandra? No…no…uh, Sandy. No…no…uh, Opal. No…no…uh. I know; I’ll call you Gerdy!” he yelled.
The ostrich, once again, drove her head into the ground and hid.
“Oh, do you not like Gerdy?’ he asked.
One Feather could hear her muffled hisses coming from under the ground.
“Oh, well, girl, I won’t call you Gerdy if it upsets you that much. Do you like the name Tiny?”
Immediately, she popped her head out of the hole and started dancing around the field. As she danced about the field, One Feather just laughed to himself.
“I must have said something that tickled your fancy or you really like the nickname Tiny.”
Suddenly, Tiny quickly sat down. One Feather rushed over to her but by the time he reached her she was already back on her feet.
“Good grief!” he yelled as he looked down at the ground.
“Look at the size of that baby. That’s one heck of an egg. Ooh wee, girl. You sure are full of surprises. Just look at that baby. That’s the biggest egg I have ever seen. Why I bet there are at least six to eight dozen eggs in that one egg. No wonder
you were dancing around. Wait until the Rooster’s Convention hears this story!” exclaimed One Feather.
One Feather strutted around the egg and looked it over. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He didn’t know what to make of it.
“Girl,” he said, “I thought you were a little different but I didn’t think you were this strange.”
Tiny buried her head into the ground.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I’ve been around a long time. In all my years, I have never seen a chicken like you.”
Tiny slowly pulled her head out of the ground, turned toward him and licked the side of his face.
“Shucks, girl. Oh, come on now,” he said. “I like you too.”
They both laughed; he crowed and Tiny hissed. Tired and worn out, Tiny sat down on the egg. Can you imagine tossing one of those babies at the egg tossing contest and missing it? One Feather laughed to himself. It would be hard to carry one of those eggs in a spoon race. As they rested in the field, One Feather couldn’t get over how big the egg was. I wonder how many yolks are in that sucker, he thought. It would make a great prize egg for the Easter egg hunt; I can just imagine the smile on the little children’s faces when they found it! Wee, doggy,” he said with a laugh.
Unexpectedly, they heard someone yelling.
“Tiny, Tiny!” yelled the stranger.
One Feather looked up and saw Jimmy Bob and another man coming their way.
“Tiny, Tiny!” the stranger called.
Suddenly, Tiny leaped to her feet, hissed, flapped her wings and strutted about.
“Uh oh,” thought One Feather. “Surely she’s not going to lay another egg.”
“Come here, girl,” said the stranger as Tiny eased over to him.
“Here you go,” said the stranger. “Well, thank you, Jimmy Bob, for helping me find her. She is my pet; I have had her a long time. But, I sold my farm and I’m giving her to the zoo. I hope she’ll like it there.”
One Feather pecked at Jimmy Bob’s pants leg to get his attention.
“Can she stay here with us?” One Feather asked Jimmy Bob.
“Well, sir, why don’t you let her stay here with us and you can come by and visit her any time you want,” suggested Jimmy Bob.
One Feather and Tiny got really excited when they heard Jimmy Bob’s suggestion. One Feather threw his head back, stuck his one feather high in the air and strutted around while Tiny hissed, flapped her wings and danced about.
“Well, it looks like the decision has already been made,” said the stranger. “I guess she can stay.”
Suddenly, there was a cock-a-doodle-do and a hiss along with a peck or two on top of One Feather’s head.
“Now, if you’re going to hang around with us,” he said, “that pecking has to stop.”
Plop went Tiny’s head into the ground.
“Oh, Tiny” cried One Feather as Jimmy Bob and the stranger laughed.