.

puffed up with importance, called for silence. As a hush fell over the barnyard, she explained the one-bird rule concerning secrets, and told them to line up, one behind the other.

      When things settled down, Laya whispered the secret to the first hen in the queue, which then turned and whispered it to the second, and so on and so forth, all the way down the line.

      By the time the secret reached half way, the hens looked a bit uneasy.

      9