A chicken called Sandwich (a true story)

PART ONE

The first time we ever saw daylight was when she rescued us. Though why she bothered, I'll never know. We weren't a pretty sight and we didn’t smell good, either. We were scantily dressed girls with dull eyes and toe nails like claw hammers, which made us look like we were walking badly in stiletto heals. 
     ‘Hello girls!’ She had the voice of an Angel. 
     The girls were nervous and began to scramble and scream.
     'Calm down,' I mumbled as I watched from the corner of the cage. I had just laid an egg and as usual I was trying desperately to stop it from rolling away. I wanted my egg, it was the only dream I ever had! 
     ‘I'm not going to hurt you,’ the Angel spoke again but this time she reached in and grabbed Gerty. She bwaked and squawked and was followed by Twiggy, Twilight, Midnight, Starlight (they chose their own names!) She hesitated when her hand reached in for me. You see, she had spotted Featherpin, lying breathlessly on the iron bars besides me. I could smell her blood. Poor Featherpin, she was my dearest friend and wasn't as strong as the rest of us. She had been injured in the scurry, an accident, of course! 
     The Angel clasped both hands around Featherpin, and tucked her inside her coat. I felt a lump in my throat. I knew we were all in safe hands. How I knew all this, I’ll never know. Maybe my mother was the same, I will never know that either, because I never met her. Perhaps, like me, she tried to save her egg and lost. Perhaps she had no alternative but to watch me roll away.
      ‘And last but not least!’ said the Angel, her head almost reaching mine. Then she stopped! I held my breath. She was looking at my egg that was slipping slowly from my grasp.
     ‘Ah,’ she said, ‘so you want to take it with you? No problem!’ 
      I felt her hands around me, they were warm and gentle. 
      'Why there's more meat in a sandwich than on you!' she said. And that's how I got my name! Sandwich! Not a very glamorous name, I thought, but I later learned that glamour would get you nowhere. 
     In a blink of an eye, I was placed in a box with the others. Not one of them said a word. We were so bewildered. And as if by magic we left the only home we had ever known.
     In the darkness, I thought about Featherpin and my egg. I wondered if I would ever see them again.

Hippy Chicks V Posh Chicks V ALBERT!

Not only did I have an unglamorous name, but I looked ridiculous too! The Angel who came to our rescue, picked each of us up, one at a time, and covered our scantily dressed bodies in replacement feathers. It felt strange at first, awkward like and we wobbled here and there....but at least we were alive! And all I could think about was Featherpin. It didn’t matter half as much as my egg. There would be other eggs, I thought, but never another friend like Featherpin.

     It was whilst I was mooching around looking for my dear old friend, that I saw HIM. I had never seen a cockerel before but I had heard tales about how beastly they could be. The tales certainly didn’t appear to be true. HE was surrounded by what only could be described as posh chicks. I had heard about these little madams but never seen one until now. It was quite a sight!

     These posh chicks were adorned with feathers of a splendid kind, that covered their plumped up bodies. I watched them from a safe distance. You see, if they saw me then I would surely be pecked from my head to my feet...and to be fair, I didn’t have any shiny feathers for protection...just Angel’s warm replacement.

     Well there was no sign of Featherpin, so I turned quietly to tip toe back to my own kind, but too late! They saw me and screamed and squawked as they chased after me, HIM, included. But Angel must have heard all the commotion and came to my rescue.

     ‘Albert!’ she shouted, as she scooped my up into her arms. ‘I’m ashamed of you, all of you,’ she said pointing a finger at HIM. Him, just strutted about like he owned the place, but I have to say, he looked magnificent. I felt quite pathetic as I stared down at them all. I wondered how it must feel to look so grand. Angel hugged me gently as if she knew what I was thinking, but if she could read my mind, then she would tell me what happened to Featherpin.

...............................

     So his name was Albert, and that is how I first met him!