The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

“Through the gap she could see an acacia tree.”

Sprout gazes at the tree in the yard. It becomes a symbol of freedom, as it occupies the inaccessible world beyond the chicken coop. This introduces The Search for Freedom and Self-Determination as a theme; Sprout’s yearning for a more fulfilling life is evident in her staring through the gap in her pen at the tree in the yard.

“The pride she felt when she laid one was replaced by sadness.”

The text reveals Sprout’s desperate desire to be a mother. Her pain over her eggs being constantly taken away characterizes her life in the egg-laying coop as deeply traumatic, and not aligned with her life’s ambitions. This alludes to The Search for Freedom and Self-Determination as a theme. Another revelation here concerns Sprout’s relative naivete; she doesn’t understand that the unfertilized eggs would never grow into chicks even if they were left with her.

“A sprout grew into a leaf and embraced the wind and the sun before falling and rotting and turning into mulch for bringing fragrant flowers into bloom.”

The acacia tree’s process of blooming, death, and regeneration deeply moves Sprout and inspires her to name herself after part of this process. This introduces another theme, Nature’s Cycle of Death and Rebirth, and foreshadows Sprout’s life journey. Like the sprouted leaves and blossoms of the tree, Sprout flourishes briefly, fulfills her life’s purpose, and then gives her body back to the natural world to facilitate further growth.

“‘Go on, eat so you can lay lots of big eggs!’ the farmer bellowed. He said this every time he fed the hens, and Sprout was sick of hearing it. She gazed into the yard, ignoring him.”

The novella characterizes Sprout as an individual thinker, unlike the other hens, who willingly eat the feed and don’t reflect existentially on their role in life. Sprout’s desire for freedom from the chicken coop is evident when she gazes into the yard. This again exemplifies The Search for Freedom and Self-Determination as a theme.

“He’s really something—he always hunts the living. And he’s big—bigger than any of the others.”

This quote characterizes the weasel as a terrifying antagonist in its preference for fresh meat, leading it to prey on the animals in the area each night. Furthermore, the text reveals that Sprout mistakenly thinks of the weasel as “he,” which disguises the weasel’s actual identity: a female weasel and a mother. When Sprout realizes this near the novella’s conclusion, it changes her perception of the weasel’s behavior; she realizes that the weasel is, like Sprout, a desperate mother committed to feeding and nurturing her babies.

“‘Why can’t I live in the yard? I’m a hen, too, just like she is.’ ‘Ha! silly chicken. Just like I’m a gatekeeper and the rooster announces the morning, you’re supposed to lay eggs in a cage, not in the yard!’”

The dog and the other barn animals conform to strict rules in regard to their roles and identities. The dog is unable to comprehend the idea of Sprout living in the barn, as she was designated as an egg-laying hen rather than a breeding hen. Although Sprout is open-minded and rebels against the strict confines of her role by leaving the chicken coop, the narrow-minded other animals in the yard, including the gatekeeping dog, treat her with derision and condemnation.

“If I can’t lay an egg, what’s the point of my life?”

The text conveys Sprout’s strong desire to be a mother. She wonders what her purpose is if not to lay an egg that hatches. This quote foreshadows her role as Baby’s adoptive mother.

“Sprout plucked the feathers off her chest to better feel the egg. A lump hardened in her throat. This is my egg. My baby that I can tell stories to! Already Sprout loved the egg.

Morning dawned. Everything was different from the day before. Sprout covered the egg with the feathers she’d plucked off her chest and emerged from the briar patch.”

Sprout’s immediate adoration of the egg that becomes Baby is evident. Furthermore, the egg gives Sprout a sense of purpose; everything is different for her because her priorities have changed to caring for the egg above all else.

“He moved his head out from under his wing and looked at her with sad eyes. Sprout wondered why his expression was so dark, she wondered where the white duck was.”

The novella uses dramatic irony in this passage and again emphasizes Scout’s naivete: She doesn’t understand why Straggler’s eyes look “sad,” but the text implies that the white duck was killed by the weasel; the duck’s death cry was the scream that Sprout heard earlier.

“‘What happened to your right wing? And where’s the white duck?’ Straggler raised his head. His gentle demeanor changed in a flash. ‘Don’t you dare mention it!’”

Straggler is upset about the white duck, who was killed by the weasel. The text implies that his wing was injured in the same incident and continues to characterize Sprout as naive.

“I’m okay. If he’s full he’ll be quiet for a while. It’s okay, as long as the egg hatches. I’m ready.”

This scene refers to The Self-Sacrificial Nature of Parenting as a theme; Straggler coaches himself to prepare to be viciously killed and eaten by the weasel. This meal fills the weasel’s belly for long enough to save his unhatched egg, as well as Sprout.

“The weasel, with the mallard in his mouth, shot her a chilling look.”

The story continues to characterize the weasel as a terrifying antagonist as it carries Straggler away in its mouth. In addition, Sprout continues to mistakenly assume that the aggressive weasel is male. The “chilling look” it shoots at her foreshadows Sprout’s own eventual choice to give herself to the weasel in death.

“Having never seen a chick up close, Sprout assumed her baby’s light brown fur would turn yellow in time.”

Sprout’s naivete leads her to mistakenly assume that Baby is a chicken, like her. She doesn’t understand the significance of Straggler’s presence around the egg: The text implies that Baby is the offspring of Straggler and the white duck.

“I’m also worried about the chicks’ education. I know they’ll keep asking, ‘Why does he quack and call a hen Mom? Why is he different from us?’ Some of them might even quack. I can’t raise my chicks in a chaotic environment like that.”

Highlighting the farm animals’ conformity to strict rules, the exclusionist hen selfishly wants to bar Sprout and her baby from the safety of the barn, in order to protect her chicks from their allegedly alarming presence. The hen’s concern satirizes conservatives who cite protecting children from purported social “chaos” to justify their biases and desire to exclude minorities from society.

“She crossed the yard toward the acacia tree and then looked back sadly. She would never return. Looking straight ahead, stiffening her claws, setting her beak firmly, and with fierce eyes, she walked resolutely into the twilight.”

The manner in which Sprout walks into the dawn characterizes her determination that she and Baby should be able to live in freedom and safety. Sprout’s decision to live in the wild with her adopted baby, so as to escape the brutality, discrimination, and control of the farmers and the barn animals epitomizes The Search for Freedom and Self-Determination as a theme.

“‘Baby, come,’ she said, wanting to keep her baby safe under her wings. But Baby just looked at her and then at the leader, hurting her feelings a little.”

Baby’s divided loyalty emerges; as a duckling being raised by a hen, Baby is confused about his true place in the world. Sprout initially struggles to tolerate Baby’s growing ambivalence about his life with her but later encourages him to join the wild ducks.

“She suffered from a continuous cold. She had become very thin because they changed nests every day and she didn’t sleep well at night. Still, Baby was growing and looking quite duckish, a little more like Straggler every day.”

Sprout’s diminishing appearance relative to Baby’s growth illustrates The Self-Sacrificial Nature of Parenting. Sprout makes choices to ensure that Baby can grow and thrive, even though these choices lead to her becoming sick and ill; this illustrates the importance of Sprout’s role as a mother: It dictates her life and her decision-making.

“‘Don’t you dare!’ she threatened, prepared to die.”

Sprout’s willingness to die in order to save Baby illustrates The Self-Sacrificial Nature of Parenting as a theme. Additionally, this anecdote characterizes her courage because she confronts the deadly weasel.

“‘Mom, why is my heart pounding so hard?’ Greentop buried his head in Sprout’s wing, like he’d done as a baby. He was trembling, inexplicably moved.”

Baby, now known as Greentop, is innately drawn to the flock of mallard ducks to which his father, Straggler, belonged. His emotional response to the flock’s arrival foreshadows his decision to join them.

“‘Mom, do you want me to leave?’ Sprout looked into Greentop’s eyes and nodded. ‘You should leave. Don’t you think you should follow your kind and see other worlds? If I could fly I would never stay here. I don’t know how I could live without you. But you should leave.’”

Sprout encourages Baby to leave despite the fact that she would love him to stay with her, emphasizing her selflessness as a mother. This supports The Self-Sacrificial Nature of Parenting as a theme and foreshadows Baby’s departure.

“Despite the lack of feathers and fat on her body, she was the best catch in the fields. But the weasel kept missing her; for some reason he had slowed down.”

The text initially establishes Sprout and the weasel as competing antagonists, however, these final chapters establish that they’re on parallel journeys. Like Sprout, the weasel is aging and therefore slowing down. This foreshadows Sprout’s revelation that the weasel’s is a fellow mother prioritizing her young.

“You seem different from our hen. It’s odd: you’re more confident and graceful, even though you’re missing some feathers.”

The duck leader compliments Sprout on her grace and confidence; these qualities, which lead Sprout to act unconventionally, were previously condemned by the conservative farm animals. In this exchange, the duck acknowledges that Sprout’s inner strength and determination is admirable and shines through in her physical appearance and demeanor despite her missing feathers.

“A mother who was a bone-weary, one-eyed hunter.”

Sprout’s perception of the weasel shifts when she realizes that the weasel, like her, is a mother. Like Sprout, the weasel’s life centers on keeping her babies alive and safe. is referred to in the weasel’s exhaustion at trying to keep her babies fed supports The Self-Sacrificial Nature of Parenting as a theme.