Page:Raggedy Ann Stories.pdf/84



Raggedy Ann felt the eggs and they were nice and warm.

“We just left the nests when you fell into the pen!” explained the old hens.

“But how can the eggs grow if you sit upon them?” said Raggedy. “If Fido sits on any of the garden, the plants will not grow, Mistress says!”

“Eggs are different!’’ one old hen explained. “In order to make the eggs hatch properly, we must sit on them three weeks and not let them get cold at any time!”

“And at the end of the three weeks do the eggs sprout?” asked Raggedy Ann.

“You must be thinking of eggplant!” cried one old hen. “These eggs hatch at the end of three weeks—they don’t sprout—and then we have a lovely family of soft downy chickies; little puff balls that we can cuddle under our wings and love dearly!”

“Have you been sitting upon the eggs very long?” Raggedy asked.

“Neither one of us has kept track of the time,” said one hen. “So we do not know! You see, we never leave the nests only just once in a while to get a drink and to eat a little.