THE TURKEY
[_Delighted._] How aptly he conveys that the hatred of peoples is at
bottom a question of wanting the other's territory. There's a brain
for you!
THE SPECKLED HEN
[_To the_ WHITE HEN, _who is pecking._] Do you peck peppers?
THE WHITE HEN
Constantly.
THE SPECKLED HEN
How can you stand the sting?
THE WHITE HEN
It imparts to the feathers a delicate rosy tint.
THE SPECKLED HEN
Oh, does it!
A VOICE IN THE DISTANCE
Cuckoo!
THE WHITE HEN
Listen!
THE VOICE
[_From a greater distance._] Cuckoo!
THE WHITE HEN
The Cuckoo!
A GREY HEN
[_Comes running excitedly._] Which Cuckoo? The one who lives in the
woods, or the one who lives in the clock?
THE VOICE
[_Still further off._] Cuckoo!
THE WHITE HEN
The one of the woods.
THE GREY HEN
[_With a sigh of relief._] Oh, I was so afraid of having missed the
other!
THE WHITE HEN
[_Going near enough to her to speak in an undertone._] Do you mean to
say you love him?
THE GREY HEN
[_Sadly._] Without ever having set eyes on him. He lives in a chalet
hanging on the kitchen wall, above the farmer's great-coat and
fowling-piece. The moment he sings, I rush to the spot, but I never get
there in time to see anything but his little wicket closing. This
evening I mean to stay right here beside the door--[_She takes up her
position on the threshold._]
A VOICE
White Hen!
SCENE SECOND
THE SAME, _a_ PIGEON _on the roof, later_ CHANTECLER.
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