The Secret Chicken Society Read Free Page B

bottle.
    Each chick looked a little bit different. One chickwas pale cream with black feet. It had a little topknot of fluff. One chick had brown stripes. One was black with yellow stripes. Two chicks were yellow, but one was big and one was little. Daniel thought the tiny chick looked like an Easter decoration. That chick was Daniel’s favorite. It peeped steadily.
    â€œWe should call that one Peepers,” said Daniel. He turned to Mrs. Lopez. “Which are girls and which are boys? Because my mom said I can’t bring home a rooster.”
    Mrs. Lopez shook her head. “This is the first time I’ve hatched eggs,” she said. “I’m no expert. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Chapter 4
PEEPERS

    Daniel thought the next three weeks were the best three weeks of the whole school year. Every day, he fed and watered the chicks. The other kids helped, although some lost interest. Not Daniel. Every spare minute of the school day found him glued to the brooder.
    The chicks were wobbly at first. Sometimes they fell asleep standing up. They sat down suddenly. But now all the chicks were steady on their feet. Each chick had a tiny ridge on its head where the comb would be. Their wing feathers had started to grow. A constant
peep-peep-peep
came from the brooder.
    â€œIt’s enough to drive one nuts,” said Mrs. Lopez. But Daniel liked it.
    â€œThey stink,” said Allison. But Daniel didn’t mind. As the chicks got bigger, the brooder had to be cleaned out more often.
    Daniel really liked the one he named Peepers. When Daniel came to feed them, she was always first in line. She cocked her head at Daniel. She looked at him first with one bright, shiny black eye, then the other. Daniel picked her up. He stroked the fluff on her head with one finger. She closed her eyes. He could almost feel her purr like a kitten.
    Two weeks after the chicks hatched, Dad announced that it was the perfect Saturday to start the garden. “Organic veggies,” he said, pulling on a pair of gloves. “Zucchini! Peas! Tomatoes!”
    â€œBeans!” said Mom, waving a trowel.
    â€œBut no lima beans,” said Kelsey. “Can we grow pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns?”
    â€œStrawberries for me?” asked Emmy.
    Dad ruffled her hair. “Strawberries for all of us. Pumpkins, too.”
    â€œBut I told my friends I’d meet them at the mall!” said Tyler.
    â€œNo work, no eat,” said Dad. That was that. The rain had stopped, so after Daniel fed his pets the whole family headed to the backyard.
    The Millers’ backyard wasn’t like any other backyard in their neighborhood. Instead of a grassy lawn, they had patches of dirt. Instead of a swing set or swimming pool, they had a rickety tree house in a big maple tree. Instead of flower beds, they had weeds.
    â€œI’m too busy to worry about the yard,” Mom always said.
    â€œBesides,” added Dad, “weeds are just wildflowers. Good for the birds! Good for the bees!”
    After Dad rototilled the garden plot, Daniel helped Tyler spread compost. First Tyler shoveled it into the wheelbarrow from the bin. The barrow tilted from side to side as Daniel pushed it over to the tilled dirt. Dad grabbed a pitchfork. Emmy and Kelsey poked at the compost with trowels. Mom sorted out seed packets and strawberry plants.
    â€œHow’s the chick project going?” Dad asked. He pushed his glasses up on his nose.
    â€œThe drawing is next week,” said Daniel. “I hope I get Peepers. She knows me. She comes when I call.”
    â€œI want a chick, too,” said Emmy. “I want a green one.”
    â€œTo lay green eggs. Hey! Green eggs and ham!” Kelsey laughed at her own joke.
    â€œThese are real chicks,” Daniel told her. “They don’t come in green.”
    â€œDidn’t you say there’s fifteen kids signed up? And there’s only five chicks?” asked