Books Read in the Past Week

"What Jane Austen ATE and Charles Dickens KNEW
From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life
in 19th-Century England"
{reading a little at a time; I may, however, put it aside
until I start on some 19th-Century English novels.}
by Daniel Poole
(non-fiction)

"Betsy and The Great World"
{started on Thursday, finished on Monday}
"Betsy's Wedding"
{started on Monday, finished on Thursday}
by Maud Hart Lovelace
(children's/young adult fiction)

"The Betsy-Tacy Companion"
by Sharla Scannell Whalen
(non-fiction, biographical)
{finished on Thursday}

"The Home Has A Heart"
[February chapter only]
{read on Tuesday}
(non-fiction)

"Rose In Bloom"
{started on Thursday}
by Louisa May Alcott

"A week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers"

{started on Friday}
by Henry David Thoreau
[Google e-book (free!) ]
(non-fiction)
So far, I'm enjoying this book, although I do not
agree with what Thoreau says about religion.

The Chicken Said "Thank You"

Since this is the Chinese New Year, I'd like to share
something that happened in Chinatown when I was a little girl, perhaps nine years old.
I don't really remember why Mom and I were in Chinatown that day. A promised treat, or a
spur-of-the-moment impulse? Oh, well. That doesn't really matter.
At one point during our for-whatever-reason, (or for-no-particular-reason)trip to
Chinatown, Mom and I stopped at a place whose name I can't remember (If I do, I will
edit this post! :) ). It may have been an arcade, or perhaps it was The Chinese Museum.
{Note to self: Stop rambling and tell the story already!}
Okay. On with the story, then. Among the attractions at this arcade? museum? was a
Fortune Telling Chicken. Anyone wanting his or her fortune told by this chicken would
deposit a coin, (I think it was a dime, but it may have been a quarter) into a slot.
This would cause some grain to pour into the chicken's dish. The chicken would pluck a
little cardboard fortune, and then eat the grain.
Well, on this day that poor chicken hadn't been doing much business, apparently. The dish was empty, and people were passing her by with hardly a glance. I felt sorry for her; she seemed
so hungry.
Okay, to (belatedly) make a long story short, I dropped a coin into the slot, and the grain trickled into the dish. Now, let me tell you, that was one conscientious chicken! She gave
me my fortune BEFORE eating any of the grain, even though she was hungry.
And now, I come to the part where the chicken said "Thank you."
After she had eaten, she cocked her head at me, and then she plucked a second fortune and
handed (or should I say beaked?) it to me!
From then on, that chicken had a loyal customer whenever I went to Chinatown.
I never realized it fully until just now, but I learned a couple of things from that chicken:
Always say "thank you", even if you can't say it with words.
Whenever you can, give a little more than is required or expected.