In the hen house, five eggs sat in a cozy nest.
One by one, they cracked.
Tap tap tap. Crack.
Tap tap tap. Crack.
Tap tap tap. Crack. Crack.
Four fluffy yellow chicks tumbled out, cheeping and blinking and discovering the world.
The fifth egg sat quietly.
Still.
Waiting.
For a whole extra day. 🐣
🌾 Too Late?
When Pip finally cracked through, her brothers and sisters were already outside.
Already pecking at things.
Already learning about worms.
Already knowing where the water was.
“I missed everything,” said Pip.
“You missed breakfast,” said her mother kindly. “That’s all.”
“But they know things I don’t know,” said Pip.
“They’ve had one day longer,” said her mother. “One day is not everything.”
Pip didn’t feel sure about that.
She stood at the door of the hen house and looked at the big wide farm.
It was very big.
She was very small.
And she was already behind.
🐣 The Secret
Pip went the other way from her brothers and sisters.
They went toward the yard.
She went toward the old barn wall.
And found — tucked behind the water trough, where nobody else had looked — a patch of the warmest, sunniest, most sheltered ground on the whole farm.
The soil was soft. Full of the best worms.
The wall blocked the wind perfectly.
A spider had made a web that caught the morning light like tiny diamonds.
Nobody else had found it.
Because nobody else had gone the other way.
💛 Oliver Finds Her There
Oliver came looking for the missing chick and found Pip in the sunny spot, already perfectly happy, pecking at something excellent in the soil.
“Everyone was worried about you,” said Oliver.
“I found the best place on the farm,” said Pip.
“How?”
“I went the other way,” said Pip.
Oliver looked at the little sunny patch. The soft soil. The sparkling web.
“You didn’t miss anything,” said Oliver.
“I know,” said Pip. “I just had a different start.”
She found an excellent worm and ate it very happily.
Being last had been the best thing after all. 🐣