...

I lost one of my very dear friends recently.  You see, on Tuesday, we let the hens out like we always do when we're home.  When I went outside at about noon, Henna wasn't among them.  It's not uncommon for a chicken to wander off.  If she wasn't with the group when I put them away, she would just roost with the cocks.  My baby wasn't with the nine other hens that evening.  It was still light out when I put them away, so I couldn't check the tree the roosters always sleep in, and later I forgot.  Like I said, that's a fairly normal thing to happen, so I didn't worry.  But on Wednesday, when I still didn't see her, I began to worry.  I let the hens out for the day.  I thought maybe Henna might be among them when I put them back, but, alas, she wasn't.  Yesterday, Thursday, I went to my class so I was busy acting out a play (that went very well, by the way) and doing science and learning about different Indian tribes.  When I got home, Henna was the last thing on my mind.  But then I did something to remind myself that Henna was still missing.  Two days I hadn't seen her... I went out to the rooster pen praying that I would find Henna there.  I only saw the Feisty and Cosmos, our two free roosters (we also have a penned up one that attacks a stick if you poke it into his little pen).  I also checked the pen where we keep the older hens that are a bad influence for the younger hens.  She wasn't in there either.  I came back in the house, where I went to bed, looking and feeling dejected.  Of course Mother came in to tell me goodnight and say she was sorry about Henna.  I miss my little hen.  I remember a couple of summers ago when she was about as young as the hens we have now are.  Feisty was so mean to her.  She came to me, hoping I would take her under my wing (so to speak) and treat her kindly.  Not only did I protect her and love her, I taught her how to think like a person.  In less than a month I had her people-loving and loyal.  Any time Feisty would try to attack her she would run to me and I'd pick her up and shoo Feisty away. She was an extremely smart chicken.  Just a little while ago we (Rosey, Bobby, Sara, Henna and I) were having a training session.  It was so nice to do that since we hadn't done it for months. And now... now Henna is gone.  I'm going to make a plaque in memory for her.  It shall say:

In memory of Henna Newhall,
The chicken with a sense of humor.