00:00Cinnamon Hens, Autumn Day, by Sandra Dutton.
00:29The Cinnamon Hen decided she would rake some leaves.
00:39She went outside in her old red sweater and black rubber galoshes and began raking the
00:44leaves into a pile.
00:45Oh, Autumn, she said, I do enjoy the crunch and scrunch of the leaves.
00:55But who should come driving by but Mr. Rabbit in his shiny red truck?
01:01What are you doing that for, when I could do it for you? he asked.
01:05The whole yard.
01:06I'll rake it for three-fifty.
01:08That's quite reasonable, said the Cinnamon Hen.
01:12And you could go back inside, said Mr. Rabbit.
01:15You shouldn't be out in this cold weather.
01:18I don't mind, said the Cinnamon Hen.
01:21Don't mind, said Mr. Rabbit.
01:24You should.
01:25A hen delicate as you could catch a terrible cold.
01:29The cold might turn into bronchitis, and the bronchitis might turn into pneumonia.
01:34Oh, said the Cinnamon Hen, she didn't want pneumonia.
01:38Well, for only three-fifty, I suppose.
01:44That's right, said Mr. Rabbit, already taking his equipment out of the truck.
01:49The dust is bad for your lungs, too.
01:51You might start to cough, and then you might get asthma.
01:55I suppose you're right, said the Cinnamon Hen, though she'd never thought much about
01:59asthma before, nor, for that matter, bronchitis or pneumonia.
02:07She went inside, made herself a cup of tea, and sat by the window.
02:12Mr. Rabbit was a professional.
02:14He piled the leaves up with a blower.
02:20Then he brought out bags and packed the leaves in.
02:23He even had a special barrel that held the bags.
02:26He was finished with the yard in thirty minutes flat.
02:31I bet it would have taken you a lot longer, he said when he came up to the door.
02:38Three hours, the Cinnamon Hen confessed, and sometimes more.
02:43Just think, said Mr. Rabbit, you don't have to worry about these leaves now.
02:48No, said the Cinnamon Hen, as she counted out the three fifty.
02:52And you don't have to worry about pneumonia, bronchitis or asthma.
02:57No, I guess not.
02:59And you get to rest.
03:01Yes, said the Cinnamon Hen, though she'd been longing the entire time to get out
03:05and rake leaves with Mr. Rabbit.
03:08I suppose I could make a pie.
03:10Rhubarb, said Mr. Rabbit, leave the raking to me, he added with a salute.
03:20The Cinnamon Hen could see that Mr. Rabbit had lettered exactly those words
03:25on the pocket of his jacket.
03:27Leave the raking to me, Rabbit's yard service.
03:30But as soon as Mr. Rabbit drove off, the Cinnamon Hen looked sadly at her black rubber
03:40galoshes and the red sweater she wore every year when she raked the leaves.
03:48She realized how much she missed the wonderful crackle
03:52and bending over to push the leaves into the bag.
03:56And stomping on them to make room for more.
04:00And carrying the bags to the curb.
04:03Yes, she missed it.
04:08And as for pneumonia, well, she thought, last year I didn't get it.
04:14Why should I get it this year?
04:17Then she looked over at Mabel Squirrel's yard.
04:20It was still filled with leaves.
04:22The Cinnamon Hen put on her red sweater, her black rubber galoshes,
04:26and taking her rake with the two prongs missing, climbed the fence.
04:31Though she'd always, until now, gone around it and walked up to Mabel's door.
04:39I'd be happy to rake your leaves, said the Cinnamon Hen.
04:43Rake my leaves?
04:46said Mabel.
04:46You don't have to do that.
04:48I'll get to it, eventually.
04:51No, no, I'll do it now, said the Cinnamon Hen.
04:54But why?
04:55asked Mabel.
05:00I like the dust, said the Cinnamon Hen, taking a deep breath.
05:04You do?
05:06Mabel Squirrel studied her friend thoughtfully.
05:09She'd never heard of a cinnamon hen before.
05:12Mabel Squirrel studied her friend thoughtfully.
05:15And the crunch, the Cinnamon Hen added, twisting the toe of her galosh.
05:21Yes? said Mabel.
05:23Yes?
05:28And the way the wind scatters the leaves just as soon as I get them into a pile.
05:34You're very strange today, said Mabel Squirrel.
05:37It's autumn, said the Cinnamon Hen, as if that explained everything.
05:42Well, said Mabel, if you insist.
05:45And she sat down on her step and watched.
05:51But the Cinnamon Hen seemed to be having such a good time,
05:55racing along the hedge, laughing at the wind,
05:58and the way another prong sprung off her rake when she hit a tree root,
06:02that Mabel Squirrel stood up and said,
06:04Wait, you can't do all that work by yourself.
06:08Work? said the Cinnamon Hen.
06:10This isn't work.
06:12Whatever it is, said Mabel, I want to do it, too.
06:16Then get your rake, said the Cinnamon Hen.
06:22Mabel Squirrel dug deep into the leaves.
06:25I never thought this could be so much fun, she said.
06:29Good for your lungs, too, said the Cinnamon Hen.
06:32Red and gold leaves swirled around them.
06:35I hope you enjoyed that story.
06:37If you would like to see these books uploaded daily, go ahead and subscribe,
06:41and don't forget to check out all the other stories that are already uploaded.
06:45Thank you so much for watching.
