"When Young Grumpy approached the coop," he continued, "the red hen squawked frantically, and the chickens all ran in under her wings.

Young Grumpy eyed her with curiosity for a moment, as she screamed at him with open beak and ruffled up all her feathers.

But in the coop was a big slice of turnip, at which she had been pecking.

He knew at once this would be good, perhaps as good as a carrot, and he flattened himself against the bars trying to get in at it.
"The next moment he got a great surprise.

The red hen hurled herself at him with such violence that, although the bars protected him, he was almost knocked over.