children’s story

Henry Wants a Fight

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It was a beautiful summer’s day. Annie was in the aviary, feeding the chickens. They all crowded round her, pecking at the corn and kicking it around. They were very messy eaters! Annie sat on the clean hay and watched them. It was a very happy group.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain on her arm. “Ow!” she said and jumped up. Next to her was Henry, one of the cockerels. He had fluffed up his feathers, stretched out his neck, and was hopping from side to side. He wanted a fight. Annie stood up very quickly and went back to the house.

Every day after that, whenever Henry saw someone, he would try to peck them. It hurt. Annie had a big bruise on her arm. He had pecked Annie. He tried to peck the boys. He tried to peck Husband. He tried to peck the girl. They were all very cross. When he tried to peck them, they would push him away with their boot. This made Henry worse. He would make himself very tall and dance from side to side.

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Once, Husband went to kick him. Henry then did a flying jump, trying to claw Husband. On Henry’s legs were very sharp claws, like knives. If they had touched Husband, they would have cut him. Husband got the garden rake and used it to keep Henry away.

Henry was a problem. If anyone wanted to go into the garden, they had to take the rake with them. They could push Henry away with the rake, so he couldn’t hurt them.

Annie was worried. She asked her friends what she should do. Some friends said she should lock up Henry in a cage, then he couldn’t hurt anyone. Some friends said she should send Henry to a different garden to live. Some friends said she should give Henry a big kick. Some friends said she should eat him.

Annie didn’t like any of these ideas. She decided to look on the internet. She found someone else who had a problem with a cockerel who wanted to fight. She read lots of information. She learnt what to do.

The next time that Annie went into the garden, Henry came running over. He started to do his special fighting dance. Annie folded his wings into his sides and picked him up. She tucked him under her arm. Now Henry knew that Annie was bigger than him. Then, while Annie fed the chickens and changed their water and checked the ducks, she kept Henry tucked under her arm. Now Henry knew that Annie was bigger than him AND that she did not want to fight. When Annie put Henry back on the grass, he ran away.

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For a few days, Annie picked up Henry whenever she went into the garden. Henry stopped trying to attack Annie. Annie told her family what she had learned. When Henry did his funny dance, he was saying, “Do you want to fight?” If they pushed him away, he thought they were saying, “Yes, I want a fight.”

Cockerels are bad fighters. They never stop the fight until someone has won. Sometimes this means they kill each other. The family had to teach Henry not to fight them. They had to show him that they were bigger but they did not want to fight.

Then Henry stopped trying to attack them. He went back to pecking the corn with the other chickens and walking around the garden with the cats and the dogs. Everyone was happy again.

When someone wants to hurt us, it is hard to not fight back. Sometimes fighting is the wrong thing to do.

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Thank you for reading.

You can find more Animal Garden Stories at :

https://anneethompson.com/childrens-stories/animal-garden-stories/the-safe-place/

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Clara Call Duck has a Problem

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An Animal Garden Story

 Clara call duck was cross. It was a very cold February and lumps of ice had formed on the pond. Annie knew that soon the whole pond would freeze over. This was very dangerous because Mr Fox could then walk across the water. He was hungry and would like duck for dinner. Annie wanted the ducks to be safe, so she had put them all into a large cage.

The cage was very big. It was tall, so the call ducks could fly if they wanted to. It had fresh hay, so the big fat white Aylesbury ducks could sit and chat. There was food and big bowls of water. Most importantly, it was safe. There was strong metal fencing around the sides, across the roof and even under the mud and hay on the floor.

However, there was nowhere quiet and private and Clara wanted to build a nest.

On the first day, she laid an egg in the corner. But Annie collected it when she brought fresh water.

On the second day she laid an egg in a box of hay, but Edna, the East India duck laid her egg there too and then made a mess!

On the the third day she laid an egg at the top of the ramp. But Amy the Aylesbury duck knocked it, and it rolled all the way down and cracked on the hard mud.

On the fourth day, Clara found a tiny gap between the mounds of hay and a stool. There was just room to crawl underneath. Under the stool there was room to pull bits of hay to make a nest. Clara laid her egg, then crawled out to play with the other ducks.

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The East India ducks were too busy splashing water to notice the gap under the stool. The white Aylesbury ducks were much too fat to fit under the stool. When Annie brought food and water she was too busy to notice the gap under the stool. The boy ducks were too busy chasing everyone to notice the gap under the stool.

Every day, Clara crawled under the stool and laid one more egg. The clutch of eggs became more and more. When there were fifteen eggs, Clara didn’t lay any more. She sat on the nest and plucked lots of soft feathers from her tummy and made the nest soft and cosy.Then she spread her wings across all the eggs and rested.

When Annie came with fresh water, she noticed that Clara was missing. She looked in all the boxes and under all the ramps, but she couldn’t find her anywhere. She worried that somehow Clara had escaped.

After four weeks, the eggs began to hatch. It is very difficult to climb out of an egg but ten ducklings managed to hatch. When Annie came with the food, she was very surprised to see lots of ducklings! She quickly collected them all and put them in a large container with Clara, so they would be safe. She didn’t want an Aylesbury duck to sit on one and squash it!

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A Prayer:

Dear Father God,

Sometimes I have problems. Please help me to think of what to do.

Amen

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The Safe Place

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An Animal Garden Story

The Safe Place

by Anne E Thompson

It was very cold. All night, soft snowflakes had fallen and now the garden was white and silent.

The dogs were very happy. They had leaped around in the snow, eating great mouthfuls of it, leaving big muddy footprints across the lawn.

The cats were cross. They looked at the beautiful white snow and decided it was much too cold to go outside. They had found somewhere warm and curled up to sleep.

The chickens stayed in the coop, they were safe in there. They stood on their perch and looked miserable.

But Annie was worried about the ducks. The pond had frozen, so Mr Fox could walk across it. He could walk across the ice to the island and catch ducks there. He could walk right into the nesting box and could catch ducks there. He could even catch ducks on the actual water, where they stood in an unhappy huddle, wanting to be able to swim.

Annie went to the pond. She took the dogs and her family. Together, they moved the ducks into the big cage. The ducks would be safe in the cage.

Every day, Annie went up to the big cage. The ducks needed clean water. They couldn’t swim in the pond or drink the water. Every day Annie carried big bowls of water into the cage. Some of the little call ducks jumped into it and splashed and swam. The big ducks dipped their heads into it and had a wash and a drink.

The ducks couldn’t sleep in the nesting box. They couldn’t poop in the pond. Every day Annie took away the dirty hay and cleaned up the duck poop. Then she gave them clean hay to sleep on.

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The ducks needed food. They couldn’t catch insects in the pond or eat the plants on the bank. Every day Annie took them duck food and corn to eat.

When Annie went to the pond, she saw fox footprints. They went round and round the cage. They went round and round the pond. They went round and round the island. But the ducks were safe. The ducks lived in the cage for a long time. They were sad. They wanted to play on the pond. They wanted to eat grass. They wanted to swim. But they were safe.

After lots and lots of days, the sun started to shine. The weather grew warmer. The ice began to melt. Mr Fox couldn’t walk onto the pond when the ice had gone and he didn’t like to swim. When all the ice had melted and the pond had turned back into water, Annie opened the cage door. Out flew the call ducks. They landed ‘splash!’ onto the pond. Out waddled the fat white Aylesbury ducks. They stepped carefully into the pond. Out ran little wood duck, she jumped straight into the pond. The ducks were all very happy. Now they could play and swim and find food, and they were all safe.

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In some countries in the world, people are not safe in the places where they live. If there is lots of fighting in their country, sometimes they have to leave their homes and go to a safe place. This is called a refugee camp. The people need food. They need somewhere to sleep. They need clean water. They need toilets. Sometimes they need other people to help them.

People in our country can give money to a charity to help people who have had to leave their homes. Tearfund is a charity that helps people. Ask someone to help you find tearfund.org on the computer, and you can see pictures of some of the people they help.

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The Safe Place

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The Safe Place.
An Animal Garden Story

The Safe Place

by Anne E Thompson

It was very cold. All night, soft snowflakes had fallen and now the garden was white and silent. The dogs were very happy. They had leaped around in the snow, eating great mouthfuls of it and had left big muddy footprints across the lawn. The cats were cross. They looked at the beautiful white snow and decided it was much too cold to go outside. They had found somewhere warm and curled up to sleep. The chickens stayed in the coop, they were safe in there.

Annie was worried about the ducks. The pond had frozen and the water was hard, so Mr Fox could walk across it. He could walk to the island and catch ducks there. He could walk across the frozen water and into the nesting box and could catch ducks there. He could even catch ducks on the actual water, where they stood in an unhappy huddle, wanting to be able to swim.

Annie went to the pond. She took the dogs and her family. They moved the ducks into the big cage. The ducks would be safe in the cage.

Every day, Annie went up to the big cage. The ducks needed clean water. They couldn’t swim in the pond or drink the water. Every day Annie carried big bowls of water into the cage. Some of the little call ducks jumped into it and splashed and swam. The big ducks dipped their heads into it and had a wash and a drink.

The ducks couldn’t sleep in the nesting box. They couldn’t poop in the pond. Every day Annie took away the dirty hay and cleaned up the duck poop. Then she gave them clean hay to sleep on.

The ducks needed food. They couldn’t catch insects in the pond or eat the plants on the bank. Every day Annie took them duck food and corn to eat.

When Annie went to the pond, she saw fox footprints. They went round and round the cage. They went round and round the pond. They went round and round the island. But the ducks were safe. The ducks lived in the cage for a long time. They were sad. They wanted to play on the pond. They wanted to eat grass. They wanted to swim. But they were safe.

After lots and lots of days, the sun started to shine. The weather grew warmer. The ice began to melt. Mr Fox couldn’t walk onto the pond when the ice had gone and he didn’t like to swim. When all the ice had melted and the pond had turned back into water, Annie opened the cage door. Out flew the call ducks. They landed ‘splash!’ onto the pond. Out waddled the fat white Aylesbury ducks. They stepped carefully into the pond. Out ran little wood duck, she jumped straight into the pond. The ducks were all very happy. Now they could play and swim and find food, and they were all safe.

In some countries in the world, people are not safe in the places where they live. If there is lots of fighting in their country, sometimes they have to leave their homes and go to a safe place. This is called a refugee camp. The people need food. They need somewhere to sleep. They need clean water. They need toilets. Sometimes they need other people to help them. People in our country can give money to a charity to help people who have had to leave their homes. Tearfund is a charity that helps people. Ask someone to help you find tearfund.org on the computer and you can see pictures of some of the people they help.

Please share this.

Anne E. Thompson

Thank you for reading
anneethompson.com
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