Clever Chicks

by Rebecca Johnson

  ‘What about my dog?’ said Mr McPhail. ‘Can I take him home?’

  ‘He should be fine to go home with you,’ said Dr Jamison, ‘but I do ask that he be kept on your property until all this blows over. He hasn’t been in close contact with the sick horse, so he’s an extremely low risk.’

  Abbey could see that Hannah was still not at all happy about leaving her thoroughbred in a cane field overnight. ‘But our horses haven’t either. Why do they have to stay?’

  ‘It really is just a precaution,’ said the doctor, kindly. ‘If the virus is present, there’s a chance it has come from under the mango trees where the bats feed and where Abbey took her horse, and her horse has been in contact with yours. As I said though, it’s all a precaution.’

  As convincing as the doctor sounded, Abbey felt completely sick in the stomach. She couldn’t imagine what she would do if something happened to Pepper.

  ‘Miss Beckett, can you please explain to Mrs Bristow why we’re late for lunch?’ said Talika as they turned their horses back towards the place they’d come from. ‘We always seem to be in trouble with her.’

  ‘Sure,’ smiled Miss Beckett.

  ‘It’s all my fault,’ sobbed Hannah.

  Abbey and Talika were sitting on the end of her bed. They’d finally been able to come back to the school, eat some dinner and go to bed awhile ago, but none of them could sleep. And Hannah had tried to hide it, but the other two girls heard her crying into her pillow and came to comfort her.

  ‘How on earth is any of this your fault?’ said Abbey, giving her a hug.

  ‘If I hadn’t suggested playing hide-and-seek in the cane fields, none of this would have happened,’ sniffed Hannah, blowing her nose.

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ said Talika. ‘It was a great game, and finding that area in the cane block was the best thing ever!’

  ‘It was funny that Pudding wouldn’t go back in,’ said Abbey, laughing as she recalled them all having to get behind the chubby pony and virtually push him back into the open space.

  ‘He was sure I was going to make him do more work!’ laughed Talika. ‘Did you see all the food Mr McPhail brought down? Pud’s never going to want to leave that place after tonight.’

  ‘But what if they get sick and we’re not there?’ said Hannah, still struggling to find anything funny about the whole situation.

  ‘Look,’ said Talika, grabbing her iPad. ‘I couldn’t sleep either so I did a bit more research under my quilt. I really do agree with Dr Jamison, that even if there was a bat carrying Hendra that ate those mangoes then pooped on the grass, it would have to be incredibly unlucky for Pepper to have eaten from an infected area.’

  Abbey nodded enthusiastically. Even if Talika was just trying to make Hannah worry less, Abbey wanted to believe what Talika was saying too.

  ‘You know what this calls for?’ said Abbey. ‘A carpet picnic!’

  Hannah did smile then.

  ‘Bring out your goodies, girls, and let’s see what you’ve got,’ said Abbey.

  ‘I’ve got a bag of mixed lollies,’ said Hannah.

  ‘You have?’ said Abbey. ‘Where have you been hiding those?’

  ‘That’s for me to know and you to find out,’ laughed Hannah.

  ‘I’ve got some butter murukkus that my mother sent over with our driver,’ said Talika, producing a large container from under her bed.

  ‘You have?’ said Abbey. ‘I love those things. Your mother’s Indian cooking is fast becoming my favourite!’

  ‘I know,’ laughed Talika. ‘That’s why I have to hide it under the bed! You just about ate the whole lot on our first night at boarding school, remember?’

  ‘How can I forget?’ laughed Abbey. ‘I had the worst tummy ache the next morning.’

  ‘Shhh,’ said Hannah. ‘Someone’s coming.’

  All three girls dived into their beds and hid under their quilts. Abbey reached up and flicked off the lamp just as the door to their room cracked open and a beam of a torchlight drifted over them. Then the door shut again. They waited until they heard the steps creak as the person made their way back downstairs.

  ‘Who was it?’ whispered Talika.

  ‘I couldn’t see. I had my eyes closed,’ said Hannah.

  ‘I had my head under the quilt and my pillow in my mouth,’ said Abbey. ‘I got the giggles when I realised there was a huge container of butter murukkus still sitting in the middle of the floor.’

  ‘I totally forgot!’ said Talika, getting the giggles herself.

  ‘This needs to be a quiet picnic,’ said Hannah, opening her packet of lollies.

  ‘I have got to find your hiding spot, Hannah,’ Abbey laughed. ‘All I have is a half-eaten packet of Tim Tams.’

  ‘Well, that sounds like a picnic to me,’ smiled Hannah.

  The next morning the alarm woke Abbey with a start.

  ‘I dreamt about Pepper all night,’ she said, rubbing her face.

  ‘I wonder if Mr McPhail has heard anything?’ said Hannah. ‘Should we race down and see if he’s at the stables? He usually starts work really early.’

  They all jumped into their tracksuits and jogged down the path to where their horses were usually kept. Whereas all the other stalls had the heads of their friends’ horses peering over, their stalls stood empty, like gaping teeth.

  They saw their teacher pouring some pellets into Boris the pig’s trough. The sheep were all gathering at the fence expectantly.

  ‘Hi, girls,’ he said brightly as they approached.

  ‘Have you heard anything?’ asked Abbey, cautiously.

  ‘I’ve already been out there this morning,’ said Mr McPhail. ‘And I’m happy to report that the horses have apparently had a good night, and you’ll be surprised to know that Pudding has eaten all his food, and probably half of the others’ as well!’

  ‘I miss him so much,’ said Talika.

  ‘Can we go out and see them later?’ said Abbey.

  Mr McPhail paused for a moment. ‘That’s the tricky thing,’ he said. ‘They’re not letting anyone in who doesn’t have to be there, including me . . . and you girls. I just hand over the food and things to the Biosecurity people at the edge of the property.’

  ‘What?’ said Abbey, suddenly very angry. ‘They didn’t tell us that we couldn’t visit them. I would never have left Pepper if they’d told us that!’

  ‘Calm down, Abbey,’ said Mr McPhail. ‘Both the properties are under quarantine and there’s nothing they, or we, can do about it.’

  All of the girls were starting to get uptight.

  ‘They can’t stop us from seeing our horses!’ said Hannah. She pulled her phone from her pocket. ‘I’m calling my parents.’

  ‘I already have,’ said Mr McPhail. ‘I called them all last night. And as much as they can understand your anxiety about being separated from the horses, they also understand the laws and know they need to be followed. This is a really serious disease. They also understand that there’s a very slim likelihood that your horses are infected so you need to stay calm and remember that too.’

  ‘How long will it be for?’ asked Talika.

  ‘I don’t know, but the good news is that they’re allowing Dr Brown in to check on your horses. She’s going there this morning and will call me when she finds out more,’ said the teacher.

  Abbey felt so much better knowing that their own vet would be there to look after Pepper, Bedazzled and Pudding. All three horses loved Dr Brown, as she always brought little treats for them when she visited the school.

  ‘Okay,’ said Hannah. ‘But will you please tell us if you hear anything?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ smiled Mr McPhail. ‘You’d better get up to breakfast now, or you-know-who will be on your case.’

  On the way back up the hill they passed some of the other girls who’d come down to feed their horses.

  ‘We’re really sorry to hear about your horses,’ said Bonnie.

  ‘Thanks, Bonnie,’ smiled Abbey.

&nb
sp; ‘At least she’s not avoiding us,’ whispered Hannah as they continued up towards the dining room. ‘Did you see how everyone seemed to sit away from us last night at dinner? Anyone would think we had the plague!’

  ‘People are always scared of things they do not understand,’ said Talika.

  ‘Scrambled eggs!’ cheered Abbey when she saw what was being loaded into the trays for breakfast. ‘At least that’s some good news.’

  A few older girls at the next table shook their heads and sneered. Abbey guessed that getting excited about scrambled eggs was not their ‘thing’, but she knew three little fluff balls that would be very pleased.

  ‘Plastic bags ready, girls?’ she said quietly, as they made their way into the queue. Her roommates both nodded.

  She held her tray out enthusiastically as May, one of the kitchen staff, slopped a spoonful of eggs beside her toast. ‘Mmm,’ she said, not pulling the tray away. May shrugged and loaded another spoonful on, and was rewarded with a huge grin.

  Mrs Bristow sensed a slowing in the line, like a dog might sense a fridge door opening, and she narrowed her eyes from across the room. Abbey saw her make a move in their direction and quickly shuffled on, popping a paper napkin over a large portion of her eggs. Hannah had seen Mrs Bristow coming too, and decided not to risk it.

  The line kept flowing smoothly and they got back to their table safely.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ said Talika, ‘I chickened out. Literally!’

  ‘Me too,’ said Hannah, ‘she looked like she was onto us.’

  ‘I’ve got enough for all of us,’ Abbey whispered under her breath.

  She carefully opened the plastic bag on her lap, and spooned some eggs into her mouth, her eyes not leaving Mrs Bristow for a minute. Someone dropped a plate and Chuckles was across to the other side of the room in seconds, giving Abbey a chance, while all eyes were on the culprit. She quickly spooned eight loads of eggs into her bag and sealed it up, then she slipped the full bag into a pocket inside her coat, giving her friends a quick thumbs up. They left the hall as soon as they were dismissed.

  ‘Let’s put this into the fridge in the lab, to keep it fresh for training the . . .’

  Abbey stopped in her tracks.

  ‘What is it?’ said Talika, full of concern.

  ‘Suzy the Squeezer!’ she gasped, pointing down the corridor. But it was too late to get away.

  Suzy was an old friend of one of Abbey’s older brothers. Her family had moved to Willowvale last year. She was a day girl at the school and Abbey hardly ever ran into her, which she wasn’t that sad about. Suzy had a habit of giving people massive bear hugs when she saw them, even if she didn’t know them all that well. The kind of hug that made your eyes pop and your head spin afterwards. The tall, strongly built girl squealed when she saw Abbey and charged towards her. She threw her arms around her unwilling victim and reefed Abbey off her feet.

  ‘Abbeeeeyyyy!’ she cheered.

  Abbey heard the pop before she felt the warmth spread across her chest. Suzy plonked her down so hard that scrambled eggs rained onto their shoes.

  ‘Eww!’ said Suzy, sniffing the warm air that was rising from Abbey’s front.

  ‘It’s not what you think!’ stammered Abbey.

  ‘She’s a messy eater,’ said Hannah, grimacing.

  ‘Oh, thank goodness!’ laughed Suzy. ‘I thought I might have just squeezed her a little bit too hard!’

  Talika and Hannah looked like a pair of chooks themselves as they tried to shovel the bits of egg around Abbey’s and Suzy’s feet back into the broken bag.

  ‘Um, so, why are you here, Suzy?’ asked Abbey, cheerfully, trying to make out that nothing weird was going on. ‘I wouldn’t normally see you on a Sunday.’

  ‘I’m working on a group project with Matilda. All the year tens have to do it, so it was just easier for me to come up here today and work in the library.’

  The girls said their goodbyes then stashed what was left of the egg into the science lab fridge.

  ‘We’ll be back soon, Aussie,’ Hannah called to her chick.

  They raced back to their dorm so Abbey could change her shirt, then headed down to see if Mr McPhail had heard anything new about their horses.

  His face looked a little grim as they approached.

  ‘The horse that was sick has died,’ he said, ‘and another horse is unwell on the property. They’re almost certain it’s Hendra, but they’ll know for sure this afternoon.’

  Abbey’s knees felt like they might give way. She slumped down onto a bale of hay.

  ‘Pepper?’ is all she could say.

  ‘At this stage they all look absolutely fine,’ said Mr McPhail, trying to sound upbeat. ‘Dr Brown just phoned me and said they were all very fit and healthy, and being cared for really well. She even sent me a little video to show you, because she knows how much you’ll be worrying.’

  He took out his phone and showed the girls a short clip. Bedazzled was munching on some lucerne and Pepper was behind him, nibbling some sugarcane. Pudding was trying to eat the vet’s phone. They couldn’t help but laugh.

  ‘How much longer do you think it will be before we know if our horses are sick?’ said Hannah.

  ‘Well, they took some blood from them this morning and are sending it away for tests. The lab is closed today, but hopefully the results should be back by Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. If it’s all clear, they’ll be vaccinated against Hendra virus, along with all of the other horses at the school, and they’ll be safe to return immediately.’

  ‘But what if it’s not all clear?’ said Abbey, her voice shaking as she tried to speak. ‘What happens if they have it? Pepper ate that grass, and now he could have given it to the others!’

  ‘Let’s not worry about things we don’t have to yet,’ said Mr McPhail. But the fact that he didn’t answer the question made Abbey worry even more.

  ‘I hear you have some new chicks in your care,’ said their teacher, obviously trying to brighten the girls’ moods and change the subject.

  Abbey nodded, but the tightness in her throat made it hard for her to speak.

  ‘Come on,’ said Talika, giving both Hannah and Abbey a hug. ‘Let’s go and listen to some chooks make noises for our journals.’

  Abbey didn’t think there was anything that would make her feel better, but it’s hard not to smile when you see how enthusiastic chooks are about everything they do. The girls sat on upturned buckets next to the chook pen and Talika took out her notepad.

  ‘The hardest part is going to be spelling chook sounds,’ she laughed. ‘How would you spell booooorrrrk?’

  Mr McPhail had given them sunflower seeds to sprinkle in the grass. As soon as they started to toss them around, the chooks that were scratching in the paddocks came running, clucking excitedly.

  ‘Mrs Parry’s right,’ laughed Hannah. ‘Just listen to all the different sounds they can make.’

  ‘Bok, ork, bok, boork,’ said the contented flock as they picked at the seeds.

  ‘I think that means they’re pretty happy,’ said Hannah.

  ‘Listen to that rooster,’ said Abbey, pointing.

  A rooster had found a few seeds and was looking at them, but not pecking them up. He was making an excited ‘tuck-tuck-tuck’ sound. Hens nearby went scrabbling over and he stood proudly over them as they ate his find.

  ‘What a gentleman!’ said Talika.

  The girls went into the hen house and found hens sitting on eggs. One cackled noisily as she left the pen to celebrate her success, while another hissed and puffed up her feathers as the girls came close. Talika had her pen out and was writing furiously.

  ‘You know they cackle like that once they’re off the nest to distract predators from finding their eggs,’ said Mr McPhail. He had come over from the stables.

  ‘They really are amazingly clever, aren’t they?’ said Hannah, nursing a warm egg.

  ‘I just got a call from Dr Jamison. The results are back for the horse
that died at the property. It is Hendra, I’m afraid.’

  Hannah dropped the egg she was holding.

  None of the girls got much sleep that night. They’d spent the afternoon with their chicks, making amazing progress, but even the chicks didn’t lighten their mood. Miss Beckett suggested they go to bed early, but they all tossed and turned for hours.

  The next morning they had science first up. Mrs Parry was very pleased to hear about the skills the chicks were learning.

  ‘My chick, Peepo, can ring a bell,’ said Milly, proudly.

  ‘Mine can climb a little ladder,’ said Daisy.

  ‘So, are you starting to see a problem with the expression “bird brain” yet?’ asked Mrs Parry.

  The girls nodded and agreed wholeheartedly.

  ‘They’re amazingly clever,’ said Bonnie. ‘They learn so quickly. Birds have quite advanced brains.’

  ‘Then I’m going to show you something that you might find a little bit distressing,’ said Mrs Parry, suddenly very serious. ‘But girls, please remember that sometimes it’s only because we get upset about something that we’re motivated to make changes.’

  The teacher put the lights out and played a short clip on the electronic whiteboard. It showed hens locked in cages that were no bigger than a piece of A4 paper so the animals were unable to stand up properly or spread their wings. They could not roost or nest or scratch the ground. The eggs they laid rolled out from under them, onto cold steel wire.

  ‘This is where they will spend their whole lives,’ said the sad voice of the commentator. ‘Over twelve million hens are still housed in this way in Australia. Only you can make it stop.’

  Mrs Parry turned the lights back on. Nobody said a word.

  Finally she spoke, slowly and quietly.

  ‘Over sixty per cent of Australians are now refusing to buy eggs farmed from chickens that are treated this way. However, because cage eggs are cheaper than eggs laid by free ranging chickens some people buy them so they’re still for sale in shops. You have seen how intelligent your four-day-old chicks are, and hopefully you’ve listened to the school’s chickens communicate. I wanted you to see this for yourselves so that, when you’re making decisions in the future about buying eggs, you think about the chicks you raised and how cruel this practice is.’