As kids get older the natural instinct is to try and be independent. Everyone probably knows that from their kids or from themselves when they were younger. This involves wanting to make their own decisions and pulling away from their parents as a consequence. The following story shows that it’s still important, especially for younger kids, to trust in their parents when it comes to important things.

Clara D. Pierson
Clara Dillingham Pierson was born on March 11 1868 in Coldwater, Michigan as the only child of Jennie Lincoln Dillingham and Captain Lucius Abell Dillingham. Pierson built herself a career as an author of children’s books and mainly wrote moral stories containing animals. Between 1897 and 1902 she published “Among the People”, a series of story collections. In 1894 she got married to John Williams Smith Pierson and they had a child who died during the first weeks of its life. Later, the couple adopted two sons, John Howard Pierson and Harold Dillingham. Clara D. Pierson died in 1952 in her home in Grand Rapids.

Summary
The story is about a Hen with her family of little chickens. The hen was very proud of her kids and praised them for their long legs and thick feathers. Soon the Shanghai chicken started to brag about their looks to others and got made fun of by them for it. The chickens grew old enough to start wandering through the fields looking for food. The yellow grains of wheat that they found made eleven of the, now not-so-little, chickens quite chubby but one of them stayed thin. The mother started to worry about her child and asked him one night if he eats gravel. He said that he doesn’t, since he doesn’t like it. The Hen explained to him that he has no teeth and can’t chew the grain before he swallows it. If he would eat the gravel, on the other hand, the stones would rub against the grain in his stomach and get broken into small pieces. That way the body can actually use the food to gain strength. The chicken didn’t listen to his mother and kept avoiding gravel when eating. Soon, he realized on his own that his shadow was a lot thinner than the ones of the other chickens. He started trying to eat gravel after getting bullied about his appearance more and more and noticed that he felt better. He knew that he had to tell his mother and when he heard one of his brothers complain about eating gravel he stepped in. The Hen looked after him proudly while he ran after a Grasshopper with his new friend.

For the original story, click here! https://americanliterature.com/author/clara-dillingham-pierson/short-story/the-chicken-who-wouldnt-eat-gravel#:~:text=The%20Chicken%20Who%20Wouldn’t%20Eat%20Gravel%20was%20published%20in,to%20have%20so%20much%20trouble.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the story of the Hen and her big family of chickens. When mothers are worried about their kid’s health or safety, they are most definitely worried for a reason. Keep this in mind for the next time that you might not agree with your parents’ rules!