When my son was about 3, he had an action figure of the green Power Ranger. He named him Lucky.
This is a true story.
I don't remember how Lucky became part of the family. I think my son found him, discarded in the grass at some park. It was easy to see why he had been left there. Lucky was missing one of his legs.
My son told me he was going to name his new toy Lucky, and he explained the reason for the name was that he was lucky he wasn't missing both legs, instead of only one.
I told him, Son, that is a very William Faulkner way of looking at the world, considering you are only three years old.
At the time we also raised chickens.
We no longer have chickens because they have all been eaten by predatory animals. Now that spring is here, we are going to get some more chickens.
Chickens are good animals. They are loyal and smart, and they happily come running when you call them, unlike cats who clearly let you know that they don't really like you very much at all.
One of our chickens -- a buff Orpington, which is my favorite kind of chicken -- was attacked by a dog when it was just a chick. Well, it was actually attacked by my dog, who only wanted to play with her.
Dogs do not know how to play with baby chicks very well.
My dog playfully removed the majority of the little bird's feathers. We thought she was going to die, so we put her in a box with a lamp to keep her warm.
When she didn't die, we decided to name her Lucky.
Lucky, the buff Orpington hen, lived a very long time and laid many eggs for us, which we ate and enjoyed.
We always allowed our chickens to run free, wherever they wanted to go, all over the property.
Horses also do not know how to play with chickens very well.
One day, Lucky got stepped on by one of our horses.
She still did not die, but her leg was badly broken. After it healed, Lucky's little claw stuck out to the side at a 90-degree angle to the rest of her fluffy body, so she hopped around on only one leg and looked like an avian version of Richard III.
Isn't this a charming story?
Well, I didn't get to the end yet -- the part about how Lucky, the buff Orpington hen, ended up dying.
I'll tell you that later.
Have a lucky day.
