It is very funny to see chickens drink. If you have ever watched them you must have noticed how they dive their beaks into the water and then quickly hold up their heads. They do this to let the water run down their throats for, you see, their mouths cannot shut up tightly and keep the water in like yours.
One morning all the chicks felt very thirsty. I expect eating worms makes you thirsty, and I am sure running about with a worm and never getting the chance to eat it must make you thirstier still. So first one and then all the rest ran to their saucer of water. Honeypot ran her beak along the water before holding up her head to swallow it. Of course, the others must imitate her and do the same. When Cheeky came up, of course, he tried to do it too, but there was very little room, the other chicks had got the best places and they crowded him. Honeypot pushed hard against him on one side and Fluffy bumped into him on the other, so that he kept losing the water he had collected in his beak to drink.
“This is a silly game,” he said. “Can’t you let me get a drink?”
The others pretended they hadn’t heard, and kept on bobbing their little heads up and down and took no notice at all. Dolly, whose worm he had taken, was rather pleased to annoy him and gave Fluffy a sly push so that he bumped into Cheeky and nearly upset him.
“Well, you are rude!” cried Cheeky. “I never saw such ill-mannered chicks.”
“Who are you to talk about manners?” said Fluffy, while the others stopped drinking to listen. “Who took Dolly’s worm?”
“And what business is that of yours?” cried Cheeky, getting in a temper and flapping his stumpy little wings.
“Take care or you’ll get a peck!” Fluffy shouted with a threatening poke of his head. It was quite a desperate quarrel, but if you had been listening all you would have heard was “Peep, peep, peep,” a great many times over.