The Secret Chicken Society by Judy Cox

Daniel, and went back to scratching. He clearly had no idea what was coming.
    Daniel sat down next to him in the dirt. He stroked his golden brown feathers. “I’ll miss you,” he said. Tears pricked his eyes. His vision blurred behind his glasses. He blinked. And saw Poison, a few feet away. Hiding in the bushes. Twitching his tail. Daniel’s pent-up feelings burst loose.
    â€œSTUPID CAT!” he yelled, jumping up and waving his arms. “GET OUT OF HERE!”
    Poison hissed. He sped under the fence. Daniel turned back to Peepers. “Well, this ought to make Mr. Gruffalo happy, anyhow,” he grumbled. He picked up his rooster. He wished Mrs. Grafalo could say good-bye. At least she liked roosters.
    â€œWait a minute!” he yelled. He turned to the policemen. “Can I make one phone call?”
    They looked at each other. “Please?” Daniel pleaded. “Even the bad guys on TV get one phone call.” The stout officer shrugged.
    Daniel put Peepers back into the chicken run. He grabbed Mom’s hand and pulled her into the house.

Chapter 12
THE CHICKEN DANCE

    That afternoon the whole family went to Willowdale Care Center. Soft music still played. It still smelled like boiled cabbage and cleaning stuff.
    Mom and Dad brought blackberries from the garden. Emmy brought more wildflowers. Kelsey brought banana bread. Tyler just brought himself.
    Mr. Grafalo was there, too. He stood behind Mrs. G.’s wheelchair. He’d brought a cake for Mrs. G.’s birthday. He looked surprised to see Daniel carrying Peepers. He started to frown, but Mrs. G. held out her arms. Daniel handed Peepers to her. She cuddled the rooster. He fluffed his feathers. He sat in her lap just like a little dog.

    â€œYou brought the rooster!” said Mrs. G. She stroked his feathers.
    â€œI talked to Ms. Benton this morning,” Daniel told her. “She said Peepers can live here now. She said itwould be good for all of the people at Willowdale to have a pet rooster to care for and love.”
    Mrs. G. set Peepers on the floor. The other residents came over to see. Peepers strutted around like he owned the place. He puffed out his chest. He fluffed his feathers. He did his funny little shuffle.
    â€œHe’s doing the chicken dance!” said Mrs. G. Her eyes crinkled with laughter.
    Peepers pranced over to Mr. Grafalo. He tugged on Mr. G.’s shoelace, and everyone laughed.
    â€œHe thinks it’s a worm!” laughed Mrs. G. “Thank you for bringing him!” she said to Daniel.
    â€œYou get to keep Peepers here,” said Daniel. He looked warily at Mr. Grafalo. What would he say? Would he say roosters belong in stew pots? But Mr. Grafalo wasn’t looking at Daniel. He was watching Mrs. G.
    And smiling.

DANIEL’S EGG JOURNAL
    Do you know which came first—the chicken or the egg? Neither do I, but in Mrs. Lopez’s class, the eggs came first.
    Here’s how to hatch eggs:
    Incubator. You need eggs and you need an incubator. Mrs. Lopez strongly recommends buying one that turns the eggs automatically. Then you don’t have to go to school on the weekends and do it. If you don’t get an incubator with an automatic turner, mark an X on one side of the egg and an O on the other so you can turn them properly. You must turn the eggs side to side, not end to end. Keep the small end pointed the same way every time. Do not turn the eggs after day eighteen. Set up the incubator one week before the eggs arrive. Follow the incubator instructions to set the temperature and humidity.
    Eggs. You can’t hatch eggs from the grocery store, because they aren’t fertile. You must buy fertile eggs from a science supply company like Carolina Biological Supply ( www.carolina.com ) or a local farm store. You can choose eggs of all one breed of chicken or mixed breeds like we did. Be careful with the eggs when they arrive. Eggs with cracked shells will not