“Why, no,” said the thing, looking down at itself. “I—I am a man, I think. Eh? I have a hat, you see.”
“No, you are not!” cried the hen, in some excitement. “Men don’t come out of eggs. You _ought_ to be a chicken, but there is some mistake somewhere. Can’t you get back into your shell, and—a—change your clothes, or do _something_?”
“I’m afraid not,” said the little man (for he _was_ a man). “I don’t seem to be able to move much; and besides, I don’t think I was meant for a chicken. I don’t _feel_ like a chicken.”
“Oh, but look at your shell!” cried the poor hen. “Consider the example you are setting to all these eggs! There’s no knowing _what_ they will hatch into if they see this sort of thing going on. I will lend you some feathers,” she added, coaxingly, “and perhaps I can scratch round and find you a worm, though my legs are pretty stiff. Come, be a good chicken, and get back into your shell!”
“I don’t like worms,” said the little man, decidedly. “And I am _not_ a chicken, I tell you. Did you ever see a chicken with a hat on?”
“N—no,” replied the hen, doubtfully, “I don’t think I ever did.”
“Well, then!” said the little man, triumphantly.
And the hen was silent, for one cannot argue well when one is stuffed.
The little man now looked about him in a leisurely way, and presently his eyes fell on the great white egg.
“Is that _your_ egg?” he asked, politely.
The hen appreciated the compliment, but replied, rather sadly, “No, it is not. I do not even know whose egg it is. I expect to watch over the eggs in a general way, and I hope I know my duty; but I really do not feel as if I _could_ manage a chicken of that size. Besides,” she added, with a glance at the black hat and the bottle-green coat, “how do I know that it will be a chicken? It may hatch out a—a—sea-serpent, for aught I know.”
“Would you like to make sure?” asked the little man, who really had a kind heart, and would have been a chicken if he could. “There seems to be a crack where this ribbon is tied on. Shall I peep through and see what is inside?”
“I shall be truly grateful if you will!” cried the hen. “I assure you it weighs upon my mind.”
The little man leaned over against the great white egg, and took a long look through the crack.