(THE ALPHABET SERIES) HELEN GETS A HEN

Ever since I was younger, I've always wanted a dog. I've been asking my mum for one since I was seven, but she would always have something to say about it: "Our flat is pokey," "dogs are expensive to keep," "I'm allergic to dogs." I always felt she was making up excuses, because she would think up a different excuse every time I asked about having a dog.
It was two weeks before Christmas last year. I hadn't thought about owning a dog for ages, but with Christmas coming up, I thought I'd give it another go.
"Mum," I wheedled, when she came home from work. "You know it's Christmas coming up? Well, I've made a list..."
"Oh, that reminds me," Mum interjected. "Mrs Jones from up the road wants you to go and see her. She has something for you."
Mrs Jones was a widow who lived up the road from us. She was nearly seventy. She lived all alone except for a few chickens she kept in her back garden. Every so often, her chickens would lay eggs, so many that Mrs Jones couldn't them all, and she would give them away to the neighbours. The eggs I mean, not the chickens.
Anyway, Mum shooed me out of the flat to go to Mrs Jones's house. I stepped up the pathway, and rang the doorbell, wondering what on Earth she had for me? My hopes rose. Had Mum spoken to Mrs Jones about me wanting a dog, and had Mrs Jones brought one for me?
After a minute or two of waiting, Mrs Jones came to the door. She peered at me, through her long-sighted eyes.
"oh, it's you Helen," she gabbled excitedly. "I was wondering whether you'd come. Hang on, I'll get your prezzie."
She came back with a small cardboard box. It was a bit small to have a dog inside. Then I thought: ‘Would it be a puppy?’
I set the box down, and opened it up, there and then, excitedly. Then I peered inside.
Looking up at me from the box, was not a dog, but a chicken...

Watch out for the ‘I’ story - Izzy Gets Bizzy” in the near future...