The days have been getting colder and the bugs are starting to become more scarce. The leaves from the tall cottonwood trees outside of the courtyard are turning golden yellow. The girls and I have never experienced this change before. We are used to hot summer days with an abundance of clover and black ants to forage after. This isn't the first time that our lives have been changed, so we are not afraid! Somehow, we know that everything will be okay. Our so-called master opened our courtyard door today. We are allowed a day out of the confines of our home. The girls and I are pleased, as it gets boring being stuck in the same courtyard for many hours. This privilege is also dwindling and Amelia wonders if it is connected to the coldness of the days somehow. I am not sure why this is, but we are allowed out and I'll be darned if I sit here quibbling over nothing!
“Where are we going to go today, Foghorn?” Helen squawked gently towards Foghorn.
“Helen! We are going where we always go! To the field behind the courtyard!” Amelia said, fluffing her feathers up, showing her lack of patience.
“Enough, Amelia! You don't have to be rude!” crowed Foghorn, as he scuffed his scaly feet in the yellowing grass outside of the courtyard. The urge overcame Foghorn as he grew excited for the day's adventure. His neck automatically crooked to one side as he closed his eyes and pointed his beak to the sky, letting out his distorted “cock-a-doo-a-rooh”.
“You know that you aren't doing that right, don't you, Foghorn?” Amelia couldn't help but giggle at the way he crowed. To avoid getting smacked with Foghorn's wing, Amelia hopped a ways away from the group, pretending to attack a non-existent black ant.
“Shush! You are just mad because you can't crow at all!” Foghorn said, defensively.
“Foghorn, I think that you crow so well and proper!” Helen cooed softly, trying to win over the affection of Foghorn. Not realizing what Helen was trying to accomplish, Foghorn started to lead the way to the field that Amelia mentioned.
We spent the whole day in that glorious field, finding the biggest and juiciest bugs and clover that is becoming scarce by the courtyard. Foghorn took us to this deserted courtyard where somebody forgot and left their fruit. You can tell that it was deserted because the fruit was already spoiling. This added a nice amount of flies to try and peck at while we feast on the delicious fruit. Apricots, peaches, and apples all over for us to enjoy! We discovered this hidden spot a few days ago when we came out to forage. We got stuck in the courtyard, but now that we are more familiar with it and not panicking, we know the way out of this place if danger should come. By the end of the day, when the sun started going doing, my belly was full of the fruit that I couldn't get enough of. Helen kept telling us we had better start making our way back to our own courtyard when the sun shifted, indicating that darkness was soon to come. Foghorn agreed, but he felt it wasn't safe to go back when there were dogs and cats near our courtyard.
“We can start to make our way back, but we have to stay far enough away until those darned dogs go away.” Foghorn warned the girls.
“Oh, I hope it's safe, soon Foghorn. I don't want to be in harm's way at all!” Helen squeaked worriedly.
“YOU ARE SUCH A CHICKEN, HELEN!” Amelia bravely announced, loud enough for dogs and cats all over to hear.
Helen began to sob and Foghorn's voice became gruff with anger towards Amelia for upsetting the sensitive little Helen. In the nearby distance, the trio paused, hushing their squawking about as they could hear their owners calling each of them by name.
“Oh no! We are going to be in big trouble when they find us, aren't we?” Helen said, huddling closer to Foghorn.
Amelia fluffed her black feathers up and began walking towards their courtyard, “Well, we will have to stand up to those dogs! If we stick together, they will be afraid of us!” Amelia began her march home, practically ignoring Foghorn's direction.
“Amelia, stay here! We will hide in this brush for a while until it is safer to go home” Foghorn said, motioning Helen and Amelia to a nearby bush.
“It's getting dark, Foghorn!” Helen cried, burying her face into Foghorn's chest of tawny feathers.
“Helen is right! It's getting dark and soon, it won't be safe and we will be killed by coyotes or dogs!” Amelia cackled and began to show fear.
When Amelia marched bravely towards home, Foghorn directed Helen to stay where she was at, while he went after Amelia. All of a sudden, he heard Amelia squawking loudly, as if she had been captured. He jumped and flapped his wings in the hopes that it would get him closer to Amelia.
“Foghorn! Help me! They got me! They got me!” Amelia panicked and tried to squirm out of her owner's hands.
“Just hold still! They will grip you tighter if you keep squirming like that!” Foghorn advised the scared Amelia.
Foghorn decided to put his life in danger and went after the owner that was holding Amelia, to see if that would distract him. He crowed out and the owner handed Amelia to his wife, who held Amelia close to her chest. While Foghorn distracted the one owner, the wife took Amelia and sat her in the courtyard. She went to close the gate on it amd Amelia had tried to scurry through, only to get caught in the closing gate. The woman gently opened the gate a little for Amelia to move out of the way. Amelia was so afraid, that she ran to her nesting box and stayed in there.
In the meantime, Foghorn had managed to upset the owner and he and Helen hid in the brush in the field. They stayed well hidden, making no noise until the owner and his wife grew frustrated and left them alone.
After a short period of time, Helen began to cry. “Amelia is gone, and it's all my fault, Foghorn!”
“It's okay, Helen. She is safe, in the courtyard. They closed the gate, so I am not sure how we will get in there. We may be staying the night out here.” Foghorn said, trying to reassure her.
“I wish we could get in! I don't want to be out here. It is so scary, the noises that we hear from the courtyard!” Helen sniveled at Foghorn.
The owners had come out two and three more times in search of Foghorn and Helen. The wife's voice had an upset tone to it, but that did not entice Foghorn or Helen. The man had checked for Amelia in the nest box, and didn't seem to find Amelia. The wife grew even more upset, as she had shown preference towards Amelia. By this time, the sun had disappeared and the air grew chilly. Foghorn and Helen had bedded down for the night and both were sleeping in the brush.
As soon as the sun started peeping through the mountains and hills the next morning, Foghorn arose and immediately went to the courtyard to see where Amelia might be. When they arrived, they found Amelia scratching in the dirt of the courtyard.
“Oh, Amelia! You are in the courtyard still!” Helen squeaked happily.
“Of course I am, Helen! I couldn't get out, I even tried, but I was blocked. So I went to bed and stayed there.” Amelia said, fluffing up her feathers in embarrassment as she realized that she had fallen fast asleep as soon as she got to the nest box.
“Well, the important thing is that we are all safe. Soon, the owners will be out and hopefully not angry with us.” Foghorn stated sternly. The three chickens huddled together, even though the fencing separated Amelia from Foghorn and Helen. As Foghorn predicted, the owners came out and opened the courtyard gate to let them be fully reunited. Since that eventful day, the owners have not let the trio out of the courtyard. Foghorn and Helen were content with this choice, since the weather only got colder and colder, but Amelia complained about it right away. As the wife said, until spring comes, they shall stay in their courtyard.
