Page 50 - Book 8 Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase

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Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase
compared to other breeds. The birds aren’t fat, Emma, they just have fluffy feathers. One bird is older than the others, but I’m not sure which one it is.’
When the children had gone to bed, Mrs Weston told her husband that she thought she might have made a mistake in getting the chickens.
‘Why do you think that?’ Andrew asked.
‘Well, I don’t know much about them. The girls are disappointed that we haven’t had any eggs yet and Jacob hasn’t even bothered to look at the birds,’ she said glumly.
‘I was the one who suggested having them,’ said Mr Weston. ‘It takes a while for them to settle in a new place. Let’s wait a while and see what happens. If you change your mind we can always give them to someone in the village.’
On Saturday morning, Lily and her sister, Emma went outside to tidy their fairy garden. The garden was packed with fairy houses, chairs, swings and miniature gardens. Mr Weston had installed solar lanterns and Lily was happy that the woodland animals who visited their garden wouldn’t lose their way at night.
The girls admired the pretty lights from their bedroom windows before going to sleep.
‘Emma, what will happen to our woodland animals if mum lets the chickens run free in the garden?’ Lily asked.
Her older sister sat on the bed and smiled: ‘Not much. Stop worrying, Lily, Dad will build a bigger pen. No way will mum sacrifice the garden for six chickens. Go to sleep – goodnight.’