Ellis Parker Butler

“ So she brought half a dozen hens and a gallant rooster to town with her, and supervised the erection of a cozy coop and hen-yard, and Pap had the comfort of knowing his eggs were fresh. But fresh or not, it made no difference to him so long as he had one each morning and it was fairly edible.
"These teeth o' mine," he told Rogers, the grocer, "cost twelve dollars down to Franklin, by the best dentist there; but, law sakes! a feller can't eat hard stuff with any comfort with 'em for fear of breakin' 'em every minute. ”

“ No; we 'll wait, an' mebby the hens 'll begin layin' again in a day or two."
But they did not, and the days became a week, and two weeks, and still no eggs rewarded her daily search. Pap knew better than to repeat his suggestion of buying eggs, for Sally Briggs said a thing only when she meant it, and to mention it again would exasperate her.
"THAT NIGHT PAP PUT FOUR EGGS IN THE NESTS."
"Our hens don't lay a blame egg," he told Rogers, complainingly, "an' Sally won't buy eggs, an' I can't eat nothin' but eggs fer breakfast, so I reckon I 'll jist starve to death naturally." ”

“ She said it was sich a blessin' to hev fresh eggs again. She was gittin' so sick o' them she's been a-buyin'at Rogers's. She was downright thankful."
About a week later she said:
"Them hens of ourn do beat all creation. I run out o' thet hen-food a week ago, an' hain't give 'em a mite since, an' they keep on a-layin' jist the same. I can't make head nor tail of 'em, Pap."
Pap squirmed in his chair.
"Pshaw now, Sally," he said, "you ought n't do thet. Feed 'em plenty of it. They deserve it. Ef you stop feedin' 'em they 'll stop layin' pretty quick. ”