BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)
Terry Morris’ friendship with a pint-sized chicken has hatched a new children’s book. “It’s pretty strange, I know,” Morris said. “But she’s a good pet.” Twelve years ago, Henrietta, an Old English Bantam hen, strolled through the front door of a wheel alignment business Morris owned in Olympia, Wash. She soon made the garage her home, greeting customers with a squawk, punching numbers on the calculator, and sitting onMorris’ head when he talked on the phone. Henrietta ate lunch with him, sampling his Mexican takeout meals. Iris-Arla Moore, a librarian in Olympia and one of Morris’ customers, decided to write a children’s book about the chicken, and “Henrietta the Guard Chicken” was published by Trafford Publishing in March. Morris has taken Henrietta on trips, logging more than 50,000 miles in his truck, where she sits in a custom coop on the front seat. Last year, he took Henrietta to Los Angeles to visit his granddaughter and brought Henrietta to show-and-tell. “Most of the kids there didn’t even know what a chicken was,” Morris said.
