The Seventh Hen

There once was a sweet, little hen named Seven,
who lived with her six sisters
in a chicken palace on top of a mountain.

Life was happy for Seven for one year, one month, and one day.
She woke up in the morning,

gobbled her chicken food,

played in the grass with her six sisters,

and laid eggs in the nesting box along with the other hens.

When the sun set in the evening,
Seven paraded with her chicken sisters up the plank
and lined up on her perch,
beak to tail and beak to tail,
ready for a rest.

 (Seven agreed with her sisters that they should never be caught in their beak to tail line-up, and that any flash photography should cause a scurry of wings in order to avoid being thus documented.)

Then, one spring morning, everything changed for Seven.
For an unfathomable reason, Oldest Sister pecked Seven on the head when Seven tried to get a drink.  Seven scurried away in fright.

As the days passed, Oldest Sister continued her cruelty: bullying and pecking poor Seven.  Seven's head began to bleed, and her formerly beautiful comb became speckled with black scabs.  The other hens noticed and joined in the attack on Seven.  No weak chickens were welcome in the chicken palace, and all the hens terrorized Seven mercilessly.

Seven squawked in fear and indignation, alerting the Farmer.

The Farmer was a good and loving farmer, and he responded to Seven's plea for help.  Assessing the sad, bleeding hen, the Farmer removed Seven from the flock, freed her from the chicken palace, and set her to free range on her mountaintop home.

                                                

Seven was now free from harm, but also bleeding and alone in the world, separated from her six sisters.  Poor Seven!  This was not the life she had planned!


As Seven adjusted to her new life, she began to notice that life was now a bigger adventure, with a great, big field for exploring on her mountaintop home.  Seven thoroughly enjoyed checking out the bugs in the grass and the shade under the trees at the edge of the woods.

                                                   

Days passed, and while the adventure continued, Seven missed her sisters, so she set out to find a friend.

Seven observed the Farmer's Son from afar as he tended the garden.

After watching the Son for awhile, Seven decided she wanted to help.
She watered raspberry bushes with the Farmer's Son.
She considered herself personally responsible for the good growth she saw.

After working together with the Son, Seven began to hang out with him just for the fun of it.

Seven learned new tricks from the Farmer's Son and soon became a pro at climbing the barn stairs.

Life was such an adventure out of the chicken palace!  Seven was no longer sad to be away from her chicken sisters, as she had found a good friend in the Farmer's Son.  He provided much more excitement than the confines of the palace.

                                          

And so it is, that sometimes situations we do not want
allow us a better chance to grow close to the Son,
to be loved by Him,
and to find our worth in Him.
Seven was perfectly happy.

There once was a sweet little hen named Seven,
who lived on a mountaintop,
and lived a life of adventure,
and lived as a friend of the Son.