The managing hen and the floppy hound

the long version

Hester was a little southern hen. She had white feathers, a sharp yellow beak, a crimson comb on top of her head, dark brown eyes and big yellow feet. She belonged to Miss Lucy Gudger and lived on Miss Lucy's farm in the Great Smoky Mountains. Hester was a hard-working hen because she liked being busy all the time. But Reuben, the rooster, and the other hens didn't like working much, and the more Hester did, the less they did. - p. [1].