The summer of the Seventh Hen had passed. 
Fall passed.
Winter passed.
Spring arrived.
Time passes and changes many things,
But with time, some things stay the same.
The hens in the chicken palace
Still had a pecking order
And could still be cantankerous.
Five had been pecked, abused,
and freed,
to frolic and roam,
away from the chicken palace.
to frolic and roam,
away from the chicken palace.
The other hens envied Five.
They had pecked away most of the grass
In the mountaintop coop.
They dug impressive holes in the dirt
to comfort and entertain themselves.
Five knew she had been hurt by the other hens,
But, in hindsight, she did not mind.
Her life was happier free-ranging on the mountain.
Five was now good friends with Max-the-Dog.
Five was also excellently acquainted
with the neighbors’ bird feeder.
Five wandered the neighbors’ yards freely.
Five’s Farmer wondered about the wisdom of this,
But the neighbors never seemed to mind.
The neighbors’ DOG did mind.
He wanted to free-range,
Just like Five-the-Hen.
Neighbor-Dog tried to communicate his frustration
By attempting to eat Five.
Happily, Five escaped.
Spring progressed, and a hawk tried to eat Five.
Five scurried to safety
under the
overhang of the barn.
No hawk would want to fly under an overhang!
Again, Five was alive.
A month passed,
But life was no easier for Five.
A dog again attempted to catch Five
For a chicken dinner.
Five was exhausted.
She had been happy to leave the chicken palace,
And the cantankerous chicken sisters,
But it no longer seemed such a bad place.
Five survived
so many attempts on her life,
But Five was afraid.
She walked into the garage
And. Would. Not. Leave.
For a month,
Five was alive,
But she was not really living.
Fear and hurt can get the best of humans,
And apparently,
Fear and hurt can get the best of chickens.
Would Five ever conquer her fear,
And enjoy, again, the beauty of her mountain home?
Or would she waste away in the garage?
Old words whisper new life to human hearts.
“I have not given you a spirit of fear,
but of power,
and of love,
and of a sound mind.”
Similarly, the words and actions of the Farmer’s Son
Must have spoken to Five.
She braved the terrifying world again,
Nestled in His arms.
She braved the terrifying world again,
Nestled in His arms.
Because time passes.
Some things change,
Some things do not.
Danger still lurks.
But there is no life
living in fear and hurt.
Five is alive.
And frolics again.
