French la Vie

Olivia and Gabriel have chickens for their land. They already had an old chicken pen, and Gabriel and Chelsea made it ready.

This past weekend, they went up the mountain to a chicken farm to buy their chickens. They came home with four.

Chelsea’s chicken is called Cocotte, which is the French word for a little hen.
Martin’s chicken is called Beep Beep, after the Road Runner.
Gabriel’s chicken is called Clocette, from the French word cloche, meaning a little bell.
And Olivia’s chicken is called Cray Cray.

Before they left the chicken farm, Gabriel sweetly asked the farmer, “The road home is very twisty and mountainous. Do you think the chickens might get a headache? I often get sick, and I’m worried about them.”

The kind chicken farmer smiled at Gabriel and said, “I think they’ll be OK.”

Gabriel thanked him.

Since bringing them home, the children have not stopped holding the chickens, petting them, singing to them, putting them in their little boxes, and even taking them outside for walks. They are totally in love with them. The chickens must be wondering what strange new world have we come to?

Chelsea joked that the children might smother the chickens with so much love that they might even want to sleep with them.

Gabriel immediately giggled.

But Olivia looked around the chicken pen very thoughtfully, as if imagining where she would sleep.

Chelsea, slightly worried, said, “Oh, just to be clear… I am not sleeping in the chicken pen tonight.” That bubble popped.

On the first night, when Chelsea went out to put the chickens in the coop. Two chickens were inside.

Frantically she looked around the yard and spotted Gabriel’s chicken standing on top of the coop wire, looking as if it might jump down into the berry bramble.

Too afraid to catch the chicken herself, she lifted Gabriel onto her shoulders he grabbed his chicken to safety.

They searched for Olivia’s chicken, but it was nowhere to be found. Eventually they had to close the coop and go back tomorrow the house.

Chelsea wondered What would she say would say to Olivia the next morning Gabriel said they had to come up with a plan. Then he started to cry, saying he was going to have nightmares because of “the saga of the chicken.”

The next morning Gabriel gently told Olivia that unfortunately her chicken had not come home during the night and that it might be lost.

Olivia looked at Gabriel very pragmatically and said,
“Or the fox ate it.” (Olivia reminds me of my mom so matter of fact about things.)

Shaking her head Chelsea looked out the window — and there was Olivia’s chicken, alive and well.

With that Olivia called her chicken Cray Cray because it was crazy to spend a night outside all by itself.