1. After a time Betty felt better. The other fowls1 left off teasing her. They had only been in rough play, and did not mean to worry her too much.
2. She dipped her bill into a dish of water which was there, picked a bit of lettuce2, and said to herself that she would make the best of a bad job.
3. Betty was still as vain of having five toes on each foot as any fine young lady could be of wearing new shoes. She was always holding up one foot or else the other. No doubt she meant to show off.
4. There was a great cackling and noise in some of the pens after a while, and Betty heard that the judges were coming. These were the people who were to give the prizes, and she felt now more vain than ever.
5. She made up her mind to present her foot to the judges, and even to push it out between the wires of her pen, as far as she[Pg 122] could. "They cannot help giving me a prize when they see my five toes!" she said to herself.
6. But just as she had thrust her toe right out between the wires, after much trouble, she heard an odd voice from the next pen say, "Hullo, what's that? Is it a grub?"
7. A queer big bird with a long neck had caught sight of the foot, and he gave a great snap at it as he saw it move. Betty tried to pull her toes back, but the big bird would not let go.
8. At last it ended by his pecking off the nail and first joint3 of poor Betty's middle claw. She was in much pain and screamed loudly.
9. Up rushed a man, the keeper, who took Betty out in a great hurry. "We must have no wounded or sick birds here for the judges to see," he said.
10. And he put poor Betty quickly away into one of the pens which had been used for bringing fowls to the show. It was empty but for two or three poor hens who were either dead or dying.[Pg 123]
11. These were fowls which had been hurt on the way, by being shaken or roughly used. They had been put into bas............