He received a smart jab from her beak, and her bristling feathers came through the bars in a fashion that rather took away his breath.

He was furious.

Again and again he strove to force his way in, now on one side, now on the other.

But always that fiery bunch of beak and claw and feathers seemed to burst in his face.

Had it not been for the bars, indeed, the red hen would have given him an awful mauling.