曾经有一个很好的青年母鸡，我们将调用夫人羽毛顶。她是最优秀的家庭母鸡，身为博尔顿格雷斯的直系后裔，作为一个年轻漂亮的鸡你可能希望看到一个夏天。她，此外，幸运的是坐落在生活中，因为这是一只母鸡可能是。她买了由年轻大师弗雷德小约翰，有四，五个她的家庭关系，以及活泼的公鸡，谁被裁定为不拖一爪和作为能力作为任何半打合理母鸡的家长可期望。
    我不能说，在第一夫人羽毛顶是一个非常明智的母鸡。她很漂亮，活泼，可以肯定，并与主博尔顿灰色公鸡的喜爱，在她明亮的眼睛帐户，她精心阴影羽毛，和某些俏皮，她似乎极大地把他的幻想破灭的方法。但老太太Scratchard，在邻近的院子里生活，向所有的居民区灰鸡是一种思想，使这个轻浮的东西很多年轻傻瓜;，她没有最小的概念如何让在生活，没有思想的在世界上，但她自己漂亮的羽毛。 “待她来到了鸡，”Scratchard太太说，“那么你会看到。我提出10崽的可能性和自己尊敬的鸡只， - 永远是一个社会的祝福 - 我想我应该知道一个良好的孵化和育雏，当我看到她，我知道trumpery罚款和她一块白色羽毛，倾斜灰色，永远也不会下降到家庭生活。她从头开始的鸡！上帝保佑，她从未有过任何一切她的天，但跑一圈，吃的是别人为她抓伤了蠕虫。“
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    Once there was a nice young hen that we will call Mrs. Feathertop. She was a hen of most excellent family, being a direct descendant of the Bolton Grays, and as pretty a young fowl as you could wish to see of a summer's day. She was, moreover, as fortunately situated in life as it was possible for a hen to be. She was bought by young Master Fred Little John, with four or five family connections of hers, and a lively young cock, who was held to be as brisk a scratcher and as capable a head of a family as any half-dozen sensible hens could desire.
    I can't say that at first Mrs. Feathertop was a very sensible hen. She was very pretty and lively, to be sure, and a great favourite with Master Bolton Gray Cock, on account of her bright eyes, her finely shaded feathers, and certain saucy dashing ways that she had which seemed greatly to take his fancy. But old Mrs. Scratchard, living in the neighbouring yard, assured all the neighbourhood that Gray Cock was a fool for thinking so much of that flighty young thing; THAT she had not the smallest notion how to get on in life, and thought of nothing in the world but her own pretty feathers. "Wait till she comes to have chickens," said Mrs. Scratchard; "then you will see. I have brought up ten broods myself--as likely and respectable chickens as ever were a blessing to society--and I think I ought to know a good hatcher and brooder when I see her; and I know THAT fine piece of trumpery, with her white feathers tipped with gray, never will come down to family life. SHE scratch for chickens! Bless me, she never did anything in all her days but run round and eat the worms which somebody else scratched up for her."