Page 76 - Book 8 Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase

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Matty Hedgehog and the Paper Chase
‘Stop it! You are nasty, Jacob,’ cried Emma. ‘I don’t like chickens but I can’t bear to think that they were caught by a fox. And you’ve made Lily cry.’
Emma assured her little sister that the fox hadn’t taken them. ‘I probably didn’t put the latch down last night so I think they went over the fence. I wonder why that one didn’t go with them,’ she said staring out of the window at Adeline.
‘Because she is too fat to fly,’ laughed Jacob.
‘What are we going to do with her, Mum?’ sobbed Lily.
‘I think she’ll be lonely,’ said Emma. ‘Are we going to keep her?’
‘Ha! Only until Christmas Eve,’ teased their brother. ‘We can fatten her up for dinner.’
‘That’s enough, Jacob,’ sighed their mother. ‘She seems happy enough to wander around alone. Providing she doesn’t mess with my plants, she might as well stay. Lily, will you take her food outside and change the water?’
The little girl strolled around the garden looking for the hen. ‘Ah! There you are. I will have to give you a name. Now, let me think ... Fluffy! That’s a pretty name for you.’
Adeline stared back with her beady eyes, shook her red comb and gasped: ‘FLUFFY! Since when has a pedigree Buff Orpington answered to the name of Fluffy! It’s an insult!’
‘There are rules in this garden, Fluffy. My sister and I like the woodland animals to come and go as they please. You must not upset them. Do you understand?’ said Lily,