The Hen Detective

The little Hen had always been a little curious chicken. One day, she was awakened by a sound early in the morning.

“Sob, sob!”

What is happening in the wee hours of the morning? The little Hen wondered. Feeling curious, she decided to investigate. She followed the sound, which led her to the rabbit’s home.

“What happened, Ms Rabbit?” Little Hen asked with concern. Ms Rabbit cried sadly and replied: “My basket of fruits had gone missing.” The little Hen felt sorry. She was determined to help. “I must find out who stole the fruits. Hateful thief!”

A dog watching by the side said: “You are not like me. You can’t smell the thief, so you can’t be a detective. Besides, you are so small. The thief would not be afraid of you!”

“Don’t worry. I have a clever plan. I got this.” The little Hen retort. She took the magnifying glass and began carefully studying the surroundings. She found a patch of black hairs on the edge of a sharp rock right beside the doorway, by the roadside. There was a tiny bloodstain on it.

“That hair seemed to be left behind due to a fall. There were bloodstains, which means the thief was injured.” the clever Hen thought to himself after observation.

This gave the Hen an idea. She decided to ask the dog for help. The Hen requested, “My friend. You told me how smart you are to detect thieves. Now is your turn to put it to the test. I found some hairs and bloodstains. Maybe you can help to identify the thief. “

The dog answered smugly, “Sure of cos! I will sniff the culprit out!”
The little dog started sniffing around the village while the Little Hen followed closely. They came by Mr Blackie Rat’s house and saw a suspicious figure. As they came closer, they realised that figure was Mr Rat. He seemed anxious and worried at the same time.

When they approached Mr Rat to check on him, the little Hen spotted a scar on Mr Blackie Rat’s back. The bloodstains had dried. The little Hen grew suspicious and confronted Mr Blackie Rat, “How did you get hurt?”
Mr Blackie Rat replied in a panicky manner: “The.. tree, the… bark.. is rubbing against it!”

The little Hen got angry when she heard it. Even though she was small, her voice became louder and more stern.
“Nonsense! Look, this is the evidence you left!” said the little Hen, lifting a few black hairs in her hand. Little Hen handed the black hair over to the little dog. The little dog sniffed and nodded.

Realising he got caught, Mr Blackie Rat became flustered and confessed: “I stole the rabbit’s fruits!”
The little Hen chuck and demanded, “Hurry up and return the fruit basket!”

Feeling guilty, Mr Blackie Rat went back to his house and came back with the fruits basket. His back was hunching, and his vision was blocked partially by the big basket, which caused him to trip over a big rock and fall. This was how the evidence was left behind.

The little dog was delighted to see the basket of fruits. He exclaimed: “It turned out the Rat stole the fruits. I am impressed with the little Hen. She’s so clever and guesses it right away.”

The little Hen giggled and said, “I’m not guessing. I am a detective!”
Looking at how happy Ms Rabbit was after she had gotten back her basket of fruits, the little dog agreed admiringly: “Yes indeed, Little Hen. You are a great detective!”

The little Hen chuckled and rose her head high, thinking to herself: “I do not need to be big to be a good detective. I can be anything I want to be.”

The End.