In remembrance of my
Savior, Jesus Christ. My infinite yoke.
Mr. Rooster and Mrs. Hen were the most joyful couple in the
barnyard, but you wouldn’t know it to look at them. Mr. Rooster sat on his favorite perch high on
the barn every day. He would watch the
area around him, to see what he could see.
Many times, he saw the farmer milk the cow, plant his seeds, or pull his
weeds. Sometimes he would see the farmer
collect honey from his bees.
Every day, Mrs. Hen would lay her eggs, and patiently
wait. The farmer always came and
gathered her eggs. This made Mrs. Hen a
little bit sad, but each night Mr. Rooster would fly down from his perch, sit
by Mrs. Hen and tell her about all the good her eggs had done. “The farmer fed his family today, then they
went out planted that lovely field with wheat.
That will give many people food for a whole season,” he would say. This brought Mrs. Hen peace.
Another time, he told her, “Farmer sold your egg to the town
doctor, and then he went to the hospital and saved the life of a sick man.” It
made Mrs. Hen happy to learn of the good her egg had brought.
Then, every morning, at just the right time Mr. Rooster
would fly back to his perch at the top of the barn and cocka-doodle-doo. That is how the sun knew it was time to
rise. When the sun rose, the grass knew
it was time to grow, the cow knew it was time to eat the grass, and the morning
chill would melt away.
One day as Mr. Rooster sat on his favorite perch, high on
the barn, he noticed a young boy was living near the bridge. The boy was lost and scared. Mr. Rooster flew down to Bunny and said,
“Bunny, you can come and go from the garden as you please. You are really good at squeezing through
fences, and delicately bouncing over rocks. Will you please take one of Mrs. Hen’s eggs
and hide it where the boy can find it?”
Well, Bunny was white like the egg, but he really loved
color and was something of an artist so each day as he delivered the egg to the
boy, he would decorate it. Somedays he
would roll it in the green grass. Other
times he would stamp it with berries. There
were some eggs that he sprinkled with sparkly pollen. Other eggs, he would wrap in soft, pink,
flower petals.
As the boy was searching for food, he would always find a
beautiful egg hidden in the meadow. Mrs.
Hen would cluck with delight when she learned about the bright colors her eggs had
become, and sleep so peacefully, when she heard that the little boy had found
the egg each day.
One day, Mr. Rooster said to Bunny, “I don’t want you to
hide the boy’s egg in the meadow today, instead I want you to roll it high up
onto the mountain and hide it between the rocks.” He never called to Bunny to deliver an egg to
the boy again.
Instead, each day Mr. Hen would call to the sun and the sun
would rise. It would shine on the rocks
in the mountain. The rocks would absorb
the heat and their shade would protect the egg from getting too hot in the day. Then at night the rocks would release their
heat and keep the egg from getting too cold.
The boy, however, did not find the egg in the mountain. Mrs. Hen was worried. The little boy was hungry. Bunny was bored. Nobody could see the egg safe in the
mountain, but Mr. Rooster knew it was there.
After some time, the boy decided he better climb the
mountain to see if he could find more food. As he climbed, he heard a tapping, and then
saw an eggshell. He looked behind a rock
to discover a baby chick!
The boy loved the baby chick and put him in his pocket. With time, the boy had lots of eggs and a few
more chicks. He would use them to feed
his family. Sometimes, he would sell
them to the doctor down the street. But
every morning, when he heard the old rooster crow. He knew it was time to get up and welcome the
day.
As a man, he remembered that time he had been lost. He recalled a white bunny who would greet him
each morning. Amazingly, the bunny would
come to him and softly snuggle him, comforting him through the morning
chill. Then, each day, the bunny would
run off into the meadow. The boy learned
to follow him, and every day he would find a beautiful egg hidden in the meadow. It was the bunny who, one Friday, had not
taken him to the meadow, but instead darted up the mountainside. It took the boy three days to choose to
follow, but when he did, he was able to look over the valley and see his way
home. That was also the day he found the
chick and saved his life.
Now, once a year, on a beautiful spring Sunday. The boy collects his bounty of eggs and
decorates them. He calls the nearby
children to find the eggs skillfully hidden by “Bunny”. He wants them to experience a little of the
magic he did.
On this day, it is Mrs. Hen, who joyfully watches as the
children excitedly discover her beautifully arrayed eggs. Then that night, when Mr. Rooster flies down
from his perch, she tells him about how glorious her children had been and the
glee they had brought. She marvels at
how much good her children have done. And,
although you might not be able to tell by first glance, Mr. Rooster rejoices
too.
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