The Chicken Coop
by Jerry Guarino
Well, Marley’s mom
divorced his dad and joined a vegan commune.
Still recovering from the loss of his paramour,
he decided to quit the vegan revolution and
embrace all things meat. Marley and Rachel were
still quite in love, even thinking about a breed
of Yorkshire/Westie pups, but there was no reason
to rush, because Marley’s mom didn’t
get him in the divorce.
Marley’s dad really missed eggs while being
vegan, so he bought a chicken coop and set it up
in the backyard, next to a six-foot fence. He
bought 5 hens, but no rooster (he didn’t
want baby birds, just an occasional fresh omelet).
He didn’t just set up a chicken coop. He had
individual rooms for each hen, in the middle of a
simulated farm, with a barn and farmhouse for the
family, represented by small plastic figures, a
farmer and his wife, his son and daughter, a
garden and a dirt path for supply deliveries.
Apparently, his background as an engineer took
over, so this was more than just a simple coop.
He even set up some farm sounds to make the hens
feel at home.
This became the talk of the neighborhood as all
the animals were eager to see the display and
meet the new tenants. Marley spread the word.
Larry Bird and duck were the first to come over,
sitting on the fence to inspect the mini farm.
“Duck, this is the greatest display of
aviary love I’ve ever seen.”
“Larry, it’s unbelievable. He really
captured the farm theme in this corner of his
backyard. We have to tell Jeri and the chipmunks
about this.”
But the new bachelor wasn’t finished. He
used his engineering skills to create some tiny
machines, powered by batteries: a tractor, a plow
and even a mill pulling water from a stream and
distributing into a tower. A flea circus for the
countryside. He set up a little milk truck coming
up the path to leave off bottles of milk. A
figure of a man dressed in white completed the
image. It was the 1950s again, a simpler time.
The hens seemed very happy. They began laying
eggs each day. Soon, Marley’s dad had more
than he could use, so he set up a little stand in
the front yard. Fresh Eggs, $2.50 a Dozen. Before
long, a pretty single mom came by.
“Hi, I’m Jennifer, this is my daughter
Ellen.”
“I’m Jacob. Nice to meet you both.”
“So, these are fresh. Where do you get them?”
“I’ll show you. He took them to the
backyard.”
Jennifer and her daughter were overwhelmed with
the farm simulation.
“This is incredible. You could film a little
movie back here.”
“Look mommy, the hens each have a little
house. And this hen is going from his house
across the dirt path to the water mill.” All
the hens used the mill for daily hydration.
“Can we have a little farm in our backyard?”
“If it’s ok with Jacob, I think we’ll
just visit this one.”
Jacob smiled and nodded. Before long, Jacob and
Jennifer began dating.
***
But all wasn’t nirvana
at the coop. One of the hens was trying to escape,
something about a mission. The hens had a meeting.
“Why are you trying to leave? We have a
perfect home here.”
“Don’t you think there’s more to
life than this little farm? A whole world to
explore, others to meet, adventures.”
“Well, you’ll never get over that fence.”
They were right. Chickens could only fly in short
spurts and rarely got up as high as six feet. It
was a scientific fact. Their wings were too short
and bodies too heavy to get enough lift. Leonardo,
the hen on a mission, tried each day but found it
impossible.
While that may be a story for another time, we
are able to answer one of life’s little
questions:
To get a drink of water.
The
Chicken Coop by Jerry Guarino
Copyright July, 2020 – All Rights Reserved
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