if I could only fly to the highest beam in the barn , and give a splendid crow that everyone could hear , I should be perfectly happy , ' said this silly little fowl , as he stared up at the loft where the old cock often sat . So he tried every day to fly and crow , and at last managed to get up ; then how he did strut and rustle his feathers , while his playmates sat below and watched him . ` You 'll fall and get hurt , ' said his sister Blot . ` Hold your tongue , you ugly little thing , and do n't talk to me . I 'm going to crow , and ca n't be interrupted by any silly bit of a hen . Be quiet , down there , and hear if I ca n't do it as well as daddy . ' The chicks stopped scratching and peeping , and sat in a row to hear Strut crow . Perching himself on the beam , he tried his best , but only a droll ` cock-a-doodle-doo ' came of it , and all the chicks laughed . That made Strut mad , and he resolved to crow , even if he killed himself doing it . He gave an angry cluck , flapped his wings , and tried again . Alas , alas , for poor Strut ! he leaned so far forward in his frantic effort to get a big crow out , that he toppled over and fell bump on the hard barn-floor , killing himself instantly . For some time after this , Mrs. Cluck kept her three remaining little ones close to her side , watching over them with maternal care , till they were heartily tired of her anxious cluckings . Peep and Peck were always together , being very fond of one another . Peep was a most inquisitive chicken , poking her head into every nook and corner , and never satisfied till she had seen all there was to see . Peck was a glutton , eating everything she could find , and often making herself ill by gobbling too fast , and forgetting to eat a little gravel to help digest her food . ` Do n't go out of the barn , children . I 'm going to lay an egg , and ca n't look after you just now , ' said their mother one day . ` Yes , ma'am , ' chirped the chickens ; and then as she went rustling into the hay-mow , they began to run about and enjoy themselves with all their might . Peep found a little hole into the meal-room , and slipped in , full of joy at the sight of the bags , boxes , and bins .
` I 'll eat all I want , and then I 'll call XXXXX , ' she said ; and having taken a taste of every thing , she was about to leave , when she heard the stableman coming , and in her fright could n't find the hole , so flew into the meal-bin and hid herself .
Blot Peck barn-floor cluckings cock-a-doodle-doo day fall hay-mow meal-room nook