You won’t be surprised to learn that Cori-the-hen-woman loves hens.
But you might be surprised to know that she is also known in Ballyyahoo as a very brave woman.
So why is she brave?
Well, one reason is Cori lives alone on the very edge of the Witchy Woods
But she’s not just known as brave because she lives alone in a woods.
No, Cori is known as brave, because each night at midnight, Cori walks all alone into the deepest green and darkest black of the Witchy Woods.
She does this in order to reach a special little area in a secret clearing where there is a tiny hiding place among some mossy rocks.
This is where she leaves a bowl of food. The food is for a fox.
Cori doesn’t live completely alone.
She shares her garden with her flock of hens.
She keeps hens because she enjoy
s a nice fresh egg every morning with her home-made soda bread and butter,
So, you might wonder why she braves the depths of the Witchy Woods at night to feed the fox – the very creature most dangerous to her brood.
HAPPY HENS
You see Cori likes her hens to be happy.
She says it’s cruel to keep them couped up all the time, so although she does have a fox-proof enclosure and coup for her hens they only go in this to sleep at night.
Cori knows how much her hens love to roam free across the meadows and woodlands of Ballyyahoo.
So in the daytime Cori opens the gate to her enclosure and lets those lucky hens roam free.
Years ago, Cori lost many of her hens to a hungry fox, and so she decided to strike a bargain.
If the fox would leave her hens alone, Cori would provide regular food so that it can feed its cubs.
So, after this, she began walking deep into the Witchy Woods to the little clearing and leaving food in the special tree.
Since that time not a single hen has been taken.
Come rain or shine, Cori never misses a night – she knows that if she doesn’t feed the fox, it just might decide to make a meal of her hens.
If you would to see some photographs and read about the little chicken that was born in Ballyyahoo – click here.
Ballyyahoo – encourage your children to love nature.
For some fun stories from Ballyyahoo click here.
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