"
She named each egg, as she laid it, by the name she should call it
when a chick, the first one being "Cluckety-Cluck," and the next
"Cadaw-Cut," and so on; and when she came to the twelfth egg she
called it "Humpty Dumpty."
This twelfth egg was remarkably big and white and of a very pretty
shape, and as the nest was now so full she laid it quite near the
edge. And then the Speckled Hen, after looking proudly at her work,
went off to the barnyard, clucking joyfully, in search of something to
eat.
When she had gone, Cluckety-Cluck, who was in the middle of the nest
and the oldest egg of all, called out, angrily,
"It 's getting crowded in this nest; move up there, some of you
fellows!" And then he gave CadawCut, who was above him, a kick.
"I can't move unless the others do; they 're crowding me down!" said
Cadaw-Cut; and he kicked the egg next above him. And so they continued
kicking one another and rolling around in the nest until one kicked
Humpty Dumpty, and as he lay on the edge of the nest he was kicked out
and rolled down the hay-mow until he came to a stop near the very
bottom.
Humpty did not like this very well, but he was a bright egg for one so
young, and after he had recovered from his shaking up he began to look
about to see where he was. The barn door was open, and he caught a
glimpse of trees and hedges, and green grass with a silvery brook
running through it.
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