Henrietta, World War II Hen

the long version

This children's book is a true tale, based on the author's recollections when she was a young girl during the Blitz when German bombers were raining bombs over the English countryside. In the book she describes, and illustrates, an incident she remembered: a hen, belonging to a household, ceased laying eggs when she was frightened by the explosions. With protein in short supply, poor Henrietta was about to be consigned to the stewpot - until a kind lady stepped in and shipped her to a farm distant from the bombings. Soothed in her quiet new surroundings, Henrietta happily began to lay eggs again - doing her bit toward the war effort!