EGBERT

By Anita Mondragon
 

Here is a little story I wrote for my grandchildren back in ‘2000.  It’s silly, but has a moral, and although it was written for children, there is a lesson in it that we can all learn.  Enjoy! -anita

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All the hens in the hen-house loved Egbert!  They said he was a “Good Egg” because he always helped everyone.  All the animals on Mr. Brown’s farm found this out about Egbert, early on.

One of the hens named Penny, had stopped producing her large number of eggs, and farmer Brown’s wife wanted to have her for dinner.  All the hens were clucking it over in such a loud voice that Egbert overheard the soon to be demise of Penny.

It seems as though Mrs. Brown had given Farmer Brown an ultimatum.  “Either that Henny Penny starts laying eggs again by the end of the week…or she’ll be on the table for Sunday dinner!” she yelled.  Farmer Brown just looked at Penny with a sad face as Mrs. Brown stomped back into the farm-house.

Penny tried all night long to lay an egg…just even one!  But, try as she might, by early morning, there was still no egg to be found.  Penny sighed and resigned herself to becoming Sunday’s dinner.  She soon fell asleep from exhaustion.  That’s when Egbert made his move.  He began to move and rock under Bertha, until she stood up and made such a loud cackle that she disturbed the other hens.  They all hushed and shushed her back to sleep.

Bertha had stood up just long enough for Egbert to roll himself over to Penny’s nest.  Penny was so exhausted, she never even felt Egbert climb into her nest!

When Mrs. Brown came out to the hen-house early the next morning, she was carrying an axe.  All the hens began to shake with fear.  It was only Wednesday, and already she was threatening poor Penny!

Farmer Brown heard the ruckus coming from the hen-house.  He ran from the barn to see what all the commotion was about.  That’s when he saw the axe.  He quieted the chickens down, and then reminded his wife that Penny had until Saturday to prove herself.  He then walked over to Penny and gently coaxed her to stand up.  To everyone’s amazement, there in her nest was an egg!

No one recognized that it was Egbert…no one except Penny, that is!  Mrs. Brown was none too happy at the sight of an egg in Penny’s nest, so she left the hen-house, clenching her teeth and holding the axe so tight that her knuckles turned white!  “She better lay an egg every day…or she’ll be sitting next to the mashed potatoes on Sunday!” she spit through her clenched teeth.  Farmer Brown went back to the barn to finish shoeing his horse.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the hens began congratulating Penny.  Penny said, “Bertha, check your nest.  I think you’ll find that you’re missing an egg…”  Then she turned to the egg in her nest and said, “Thank you Egbert.”  All the hens gasped as they realized that Egbert truly was a “Good Egg.”

This happened every night for weeks.  Finally Mrs. Brown gave up on her idea of making Penny sit next to the mashed potatoes.

Egbert soon found himself a wife.  She came from the ranch down the road.  She was a small, beautiful little Spanish Omelet.  Her shell was brown and Egbert’s was white, but that didn’t matter to him!

Her parents were known as El Senor y La Senora Huevos Rancheros.  El Senor Rancheros, was a tough guy…kind of hard-boiled, but nice too.  La Senora Rancheros, was different from her husband; they referred to her as over easy, because nothing seemed to bother her.

It wasn’t long before Egbert and his little Spanish Omelet had themselves a son.  They named him Benedict, and called him Ben for short.  As he grew, he was loved almost as much as his father was by the other eggs.  They thought he was a little cracked at times, because he loved baseball, but they always ended up saying that he really was a “Good Egg”, just like his father.

Egbert had twelve children in all.  He and his Spanish bride decided that kids were cheaper by the dozen.  Egbert had to work so hard to support his family, he’d be fried by the end of the week; his brain felt scrambled, but to his family and to Penny, he was a hero!

Penny lived for many years because of Egbert and his children.  They all followed in their father’s footsteps.  Every night, one of them would climb into the nest with Penny…just in case Mrs. Brown thought about putting her next to the mashed potatoes on Sunday!

The moral to this story is:

KINDNESS AND COMPASSION COULD SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE…SO BE A “GOOD EGG!”

By:  Anita Mondragon 2000


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