The chicken house is small and red. It smells like hay and feathers.
Toto opens the little door. Slowly. Carefully.
The chickens look at her. One, two, three... twelve chickens. And Penny.
Penny is the biggest chicken. She is brown with a small red top on her head. She always looks like she has a plan.
Today, Penny has a plan.
Toto steps inside. She goes to the first nest. One egg. She puts it in the basket. She goes to the second nest. Two eggs.
'Good morning,' Toto says to the chickens. 'Thank you for the eggs.'
The chickens say nothing. Chickens do not say thank you.
Toto goes to the third nest. It is empty. She looks around.
Penny is at the door.
Penny looks at Toto. Toto looks at Penny.
Penny runs.
'Penny! No! Come back!'
Toto puts the basket down carefully — the eggs must not break — and runs after Penny.
Penny is fast. Very fast. She runs past the water trough. She runs past the big oak tree. She runs into the vegetable garden.
'Not the garden! Mum will be angry!'
Toto runs faster. She goes around the left side of the bean plants. Penny goes around the right side.
They stop. They look at each other.
Toto is very still. She takes one slow step. Then another. She holds out her hand — flat, like Dad showed her.
Penny looks at the hand. She comes closer. She pecks at Toto's fingers. Nothing there.
But Penny is close now.
Toto picks her up gently. Penny makes a loud, unhappy noise.
'I know,' Toto says. 'But you can't stay in the garden.'
She carries Penny back. She puts her inside. She closes the door. She counts: one, two, three... twelve chickens. And Penny.
Everyone is here.
Toto picks up the basket. Ten eggs. She writes in her notebook: Penny ran today. She always runs on Tuesdays.
She does not know if this is true. But she writes it anyway.