The Coop Tarleton Chronicles

[Chickenfan4life]

Introduction
Hi. This is Hannah. This is my first book, so I am not going to have a whole, long, boring introduction. This story is about a proud, kind Old English King. Well, an Old English Game Bantam King, that is. His name is Terrel, and, in this story, he is the head rooster of Coop Tarleton. Terrel, is Old English for "the Thunder Ruler", and that was a very suiting name for a rooster so bossy he felt that he could rule anything-- even thunder. Tarleton is Old English for "The Thunder Ruler's Estate" and this was a very good name for a coop inhabited by "the Thunder Ruler".

Now that you have met the "Thunder Ruler", without further ado, The Coop Tarleton Chronicles.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Chapter One
Terrel awoke at the crack of dawn and flew down from his perch. He landed with a soft thud in the straw, his wings still beating, scattering the straw in all directions. This awoke Kimberly from her light slumber, and she looked at him with disaproving looks, as if to say, "You could just use the ramp!" Terrel strutted out to begin bossing the sun up into the sky. How on earth would there be day if he didn't demand it? But, with his loud crows echoing around the farm, Kimberly awoke again. She was not pleased...

Kimberly gave up trying to sleep in right after the 5th crow sounded. She wobbled down the ramp and stepped onto the soft, golden straw, which was begining to glow a red-gold color, as the sun rose. Audrey, the less dainty pullet, awoke, realizing that Kimberly was no longer snuggled beside her. Audrey saw Kimberly leave the coop, and flapped noisily down, face-planting in the straw and skidding a few inches forward. This caused Terrel to come rushing inside the coop, making a low, tutting sound. Audrey got up and ruffled her feathers, fluffing herself and causing the feathers to lie flat, again.

After all this commotion, Edwina finally awoke, and stared disaprovingly at the noisy party below her. She was always grumpy when disturbed, and was content to constantly complain. She complained about the grass, the sky, the weather, the food, her feathers; anything! She complained about anything. But she was by far the prettiest, and the smallest. Edwina means "prosperous little one", and prosperous means "profitable", and was she prosperous! The was always the one to hatch a full clutch of healthy chicks, she was the one who always found the best tidbits in the yard, and she was the one who got the most attention. So, yes, Edwina was very prosperous.

By now, Terrel had ushered all three ladies into the yard, and they were happily searching for grubs and worms. As her name proclaims, Edwina found a worm and snatched it out of the mud! The other two ladies noticed and Edwina started running. She had to wear the others out, before she could eat her prize. Up until now, these little competitions had always been unfair, with Edwina eating the worm herself, without sharing. So, as Edwina ran, Terrel decided to take the worm and split it up between all the ladies.

Edwina ran and ran, looking over her shoulder to see how far behind the rest were. Suddenly *CRASH* she ran into Terrel and flipped backwards, landing lightly on her back. Terrel gently took the worm and held it. First, Kimberly got a piece, followed by Audrey, and Edwina getting a piece as well. Terrel got the last piece, the tail. Edwina complained loudly and stomped off.

She had only gotten about a foot away, when a shadow crossed the yard. A HAWK!

 

[blueeyeddemon]

Awesome I'm hooked!! I'll definitely be subscribing Can't wait for chapter two!!

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Chapter Two
The hawk glided over the field. Sparrows and robins and jays screeched and chattered loudly and took refuge in barns and bushes, where the hawk could not get them. The big hawk circled about in the sky, getting closer and closer to Coop Tarleton! By now, Terrel had bravely ushered the ladies into a shrub, and the four of them huddled there under the bush, watching that hawk. They were not completely safe in the brush, and the coop was too far to reach safely! The hawk wheeled around and landed in a tree a few feet from the coop. Then, he swooped from the tree and landed right on top of one of the thick fence posts that held the little pen together. And there he sat, waiting... waiting for his meal to crawl ou t from under that shrub.

Edwina complained of course, and this did not help the four of them to keep calm at all. Edwina griped that her throat hurt and that she wanted a drink of water. She griped that she wanted to eat the scratch feed in the trough, and, finally, she griped about how they were going to die! Suddenly, the chickens heard a screen door slam, and the hawk turned his head away for a split second to see a brown haired lanky-looking girl of about elleven. She ran up, screaming like a wild child and waving her arms. Lucy Anderson was very tempted to throw some rocks and sticks at the hawk, but, if she killed the hawk, that would be a federal offense, so she satisfied herself with waving her arms and screaming!

Well, the hawk waited until Lucy got too close, before swooping off the post and gliding off into the distance, off to terrorize some other group of chickens, some of which might not be so lucky. Lucy ran into the pen. "Oh my poor babies!" she exclaimed, scooping up her favorite, Edwina, whom had already rushed to Lucy's heels, in hopes of treats. Of course, Lucy had their favorite treat, cracked corn. She tossed some to Terrel, Audrey, and Kimberly, and fed Edwina by hand. This never bothered Terrel, or the other girls, whom were quite content to scratch around on the ground, looking for the tasty tidbits of cracked corn.

Edwina, on the other hand, would not eat the corn, unless she was sitting in Lucy's lap, being hand-fed the tasty yellow morsels. Lucy didn't have a problem with this at all. She didn't mind Edwina's muddy little chicken feet on her new store-bought jeans. But, Lucy had responsibilities, too. Therefore, when Edwina finished the corn, Lucy got up, exited the pen, and entered the coop to check for eggs. All three hens had laid an egg, and their eggs were hardly bigger that an inch or two long. But these eggs were very delicious, and just the right size for a bite-size boiled egg, or deviled egg.

All seemed safe, but the chickens knew that the hawk would be back, and that they were going to have to be careful about everything that they did... their lives depended on how well they kept watch for dangers such as hawks.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Chapter Three
It had been three days since the hawk was seen, and he had not been back. So, the Tarletons celebrated, by getting to free-range. This was one thing that Edwina did not complain about. All the Tarletons enjoyed free-ranging. There was grass to eat, bugs to catch, and lots of space to run. This was an enjoyable day, with all the Tarletons in good spirits and their hearts light. They were pleased to not have to constantly watch for hawks. This resulted in lots of flying and squawking, since the Tarletons quite enjoyed flying around. They didn't normally flap around, since it was like a signal for hawks, proclaiming lunch. But, all this celebrating didn't mean that Terrel let his guard down. He was always on alert, watching the skies. Hawks were a dangerous predator.They swooped down from the sky, and snatched a chicken right off the ground... and the Tarletons, as small as they were, made an easy meal.

Lucy came out into the yard, and led the Tarletons into their coop. She didn't want them out past three o' clock, for safety reasons. That was the end of the freedom.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

Chapter Four
Terrel and the Tarletons were out in their coop. Lucy was bustling about, feeding them, watering them, and cleaning the coop. She was changed into her best jeans and shirt, and kept mentioning a "Poultry Swap". Terrel had heard of these before. People traded chickens for money or other chickens. The night before, she had selected a chicken, Berty, a buff silkie rooster, to trade. Now, she was leaving. Lucy closed the gate and ran back up the path to the house. She stopped at the door and picked up the carrier that held Berty. Her mom and dad walked outside and headed for the red pickup truck. Markus, the border collie, ran and jumped into the back of the truck. Lucy climbed in and sat in the back seat with the carrier firmly in her hands. Then the parents got in and off they drove. Terrel had seen all this from the coop roof. He flew down and strutted off into the coop, to lounge around. He knew that Lucy would be back later.