When Dead Eye was very young, he enjoyed travelling to his cousin Aaron's farm not far from where he lived in Germany. Even at an early age, Dead Eye could communicate with many of the farm animals. There was one incident that he remembers very well. He was playing in the massive yard with Aaron in the sandbox. All of a sudden, there was a real raucous in the henhouse. Chickens were jumping around and flapping their wings, cackling loudly. Aaron and Dead Eye grabbed their slingshots and ran to the henhouse expecting a fox, coyote, or other predator had made its way into the coop.
As it turned out there was no predator. Instead the lead hen, who was at the top of the pecking order, was taking the lead in this raucous, almost like she was conducting a symphony. Her name was Mrs. Henrietta Peck. Her maiden name was Cluck and she came from a long line of Clucks who were famous for their good looks (she always carried her comb with her) and intelligence (as far as chickens go). She explained to Dead Eye that she was so happy that she could not resist engaging in this chicken symphony (let's name it Hilarious Hens). The drummer in this symphony even used fancy drumsticks. This later became known as the Chicken Dance, made famous by a well-known group.
Anyway, Dead Eye inquired of Mrs. Peck, "Why are you so jubilant?" This unrestrained jubilation was so out-of-character for Mrs. Peck. She was a little hard-boiled around the edges although she did like a good yoke or two.
Mrs. Peck answered shaking her pin feathers, "Ah, on a wing and a prayer my greatest
concern has been eliminated."
"What concern?" Dead Eye queried.
"That your family would stop having us for supper!"
Dead Eye knew that "having us for supper" did not include having chickens dining at the dinner table with humans, enjoying good conversation and freely pecking on the grains placed in front of them. That would ruffle a feather or two. It had an altogether more sinister meaning (for the chickens anyway).
"Oh, I see," replied Dead Eye. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"It's obvious, isn't it? Look at the new sign your uncle put up at the entrance to the chicken compound! That sign cost more than chicken scratch."
Dead Eye looked at the newly placed sign and scratched his head. This didn't make much sense. "At first I had a hard time reading it, so I asked one of the young hens to fetch my s-peck-tacles. Bless her heart, she went and got them. Now, you know English is not my first language. I was hatched and raised speaking Cluckwegian. It is spoken by all the Clucks that come from Norway. But I think I know enough of English to understand this sign," Mrs. Peck said.
Aaron's dad had planted new grass seeds on the area around the coop and he had place a sign that said:
No Walking - Chickens Here
Dead Eye could not figure out why this sign made Mrs. Peck so happy. Her limited English caused her to make a mistake in interpreting one of the words and, when Mrs. Peck found out she was so wrong, she had egg on her face
What do you think she thought the sign said?
In addition to guessing what the sign said, how many words are related to birds or chickens?
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