Children’s Story – Snake in the Hen House – Part I

And God created . . . every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. And God blessed them, saying, . . . let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.” Genesis 1:21–23. [Emphasis supplied.]

It was the fifth day of creation week that God created chickens. I am so glad that He created chickens. They are wonderful pets. Do you know that God loves all the creatures that He created, and He wants them to be safe? Let me tell you about it.

One very pleasant evening in Arkansas, I was transcribing a sermon by Pastor John. It was all about Satan’s tricks and how he tries to fool us. The Bible calls Satan a “dragon” and a “serpent,” which is a snake. God wants us to recognize Satan’s temptations and to avoid them, like we would avoid a snake.

As I was happily typing away, all of a sudden a thought came into my head, “Lois, you had better go and close up your chickens.” You see, the only way to protect the chickens from the raccoons was to lock the chicken house at night.

I looked at the clock and objected, “Oh, I do not want to be interrupted right now. It is only five minutes before nine o’clock. I will do it later.” So, I went on typing.

A few minutes later, the thought voice was more insistent. “Lois, you need to shut up your chickens!” Looking at the time on the clock, I decided I might as well obey the persistent thought. So I saved my work on the computer, picked up my temperamental, old, red flashlight, and went outside toward the chicken pen.

The chicken house was divided in half (north and south), and each half had its own yard and its own group of chickens. I headed for the north side first. Click—the flashlight did not turn on. Click, click—finally the light came on.

I smiled, knowing what I would see inside the chicken house. Fluffy, a black, mother hen, would be on her nest, and her little chicks would stick their heads out through her feathers to look at the light. I would look around and count the chickens on the roosts to be sure they were all there. Keeter would be right in back of his mother, Fluffy. Keeter was half grown but handicapped with cerebral palsy, and he could not sit on the roost, so he stayed with Fluffy and the new babies.

I shined the light inside the chicken house. The nest was there, filled with something black, but it was not Fluffy! I could not believe my eyes. There was a huge, ugly, black snake, and he was trying to swallow Keeter! The light did not bother the snake at all. But where was Fluffy?

Before I could think what to do, God came to my rescue. The thought voice in my mind said, “Lois, do not try to be a hero. Go get Ken.”

I ran as fast as I could, bursting into the house, shouting, “Ken, there is a big, black snake in the chicken house, and it is swallowing Keeter.”

Ken jumped out of his chair and headed for the back door. I handed him the old, red flashlight and followed. As he ran out the door, he grabbed a shovel. Click, click, click. The flashlight would not come on. “Dear Lord,” I prayed, “please let the old, red flashlight work.” Click, click—nothing. As Ken got to the door of the chicken yard, the flashlight came on, just when he needed it. “Oh, thank you, Lord,” I breathed. But what would Ken do?