The three wise cocks objected to speak of themselves or their services,
but they had had some experience on behalf of the community in times of
danger, and in their opinion there had been a panic, and the hasty
action taken by Flaps was injudicious and regrettable.
The oldest hen of Hencastle shook her feathers to show how much Flaps
was in the wrong, and then puffed them out to show how much she was in
the right; and after clearing her throat almost as if she were going to
crow, she observed very shrilly that she "didn't care who contradicted
her when she said that the common sense of the Mother of a Family was
enough to tell _her_ that an old dog, who had lost an eye and an ear and
a leg, was no fit protector for the feminine and the young and the
inexperienced."
The chief cock was not so free of his opinions as the chief hen, but he
grumbled and scolded about everything, by which one may make matters
amply unpleasant without committing oneself or incurring responsibility.
Another of the hens made a point of having no opinion. She said that was
her way, she trusted everybody alike and bore her share of suffering,
which was seldom small, without a murmur. But her good wishes were
always at any one's service, and she would say that she sincerely hoped
that a sad injustice had not been done to the red-haired gentleman with
the singularly agreeable manners, who would have been gatekeeper of
Hencastle at this moment if it had not been for Flaps.
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