"Oh, my baby chick!" said Mother Hen. "Now where is that little rascal I sat on so patiently until she was ready to hatch? She was just an egg last week and now she's running off! Whoosh! They grow up so fast!"

Little Jenny chick had gone out to explore the new and amazing world around her. She had no time for sitting around and getting bored with the other chickens.

There was Mama Hen, who seemed to spend all her time watching all her little chicks, and Daddy Rooster, who was always so proud and punctual and concerned about being on time. He crowed every morning for the humans so that they would wake up on time!

"Cock-a-doodle-doooo!"

Oh my! There he goes again! Jenny said to herself. This is not where I belong. I want adventure, action, and fun! I want to go where it's exciting. I know Mama said to stay close to her, but this chicken coop is not for me.

And off she scurried, heading straight for the old wooden fence that surrounded the farmyard. I wonder what's on the other side? It's probably a whole lot more exciting than what's in here.

Jenny jumped back with a start. She looked up to see Hunter, the ferocious dog who guarded the gate. He barked and growled at her so loud that poor Jenny couldn't find her legs to move. She stood there frozen with fright, looking up at this giant-of-a-beast towering over her. Why, just his mouth was as big as she was!

"Help! Mama, help! Save me!" she cheeped, when she finally found her voice. Thankfully, Mama Hen had spotted her, and came to her rescue, ruffling her feathers and clucking and flapping her wings as hard as she could. The noise and the activity distracted Hunter long enough for Jenny to run back inside to safety.

"Oh, Mama, he was so big and scary and..." Jenny burst into tears, her little legs still wobbling. Mama Hen drew her under her wing to comfort and console her.

"Now, don't worry about him. He may look big and scary, but he's just a loud and grouchy old dog. He means no harm. His job is to protect us and our farmer from strangers."

"But why did he have to bark at me and be so mean-looking?" little Jenny sobbed.

"He didn't want you to go running outside the gate and get lost, or get swallowed up by a stray cat."

"Oh," said Jenny. She was now thankful she had such a caring mom who watched over her. I think I know now why Mama told me to stay close to her and not to wander off, Jenny thought.

Just then, it started to rain. With a loud splosh, splosh, the rain began to soak the farmyard. But Jenny wasn't afraid. She didn't even get wet, because she was safe under Mama's wing.

The rain poured down for quite some time, and Mama Hen grew concerned as large puddles began filling up the yard.

After a while, the rain stopped, but just then, a bolt of lightning came down from the sky, striking close by the farmyard.

"Oh no! The lightning has hit Farmer Jones' house!" neighed Molly, the mare.

Soon, all the farmyard animals saw flames licking up the back of the wooden farmhouse, and the smell of smoke began to fill the air.

"What can we do? What if Farmer Jones is still inside? We have to save him!" mooed the cow.

"I've got it!" piped up Papa rooster. "We can call for help! Let's make as much noise as we can, and then maybe the neighbors will hear us and come over to help put out the fire!"

"Good idea," cried the animals.

All together they began to call out:

"Oink, oink!"
"Neigh! Neigh!"
"Moo, moo!"
"Woof, woof!"
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Big George, the work horse, managed to kick open the stable door. Neighing and bucking with all his might, he began running and making a big commotion all around the farmyard.

Mama Hen began to whisper, "Dear Jesus, please keep our farmer safe. Help someone to hear us and come over to help."

"Mama! What's going on?" shivered Jenny, peeking out at the fire, which by now seemed to be spreading to the front of the house.

"Stay close to me and try not to be too frightened. We can only pray and do our best and wait and see," whispered Mama Hen.

The dark sky overhead rumbled, and lightning flashed in the distance. The wind fanned the flames and sent the smoke swirling up through the air. Boy, I'm glad I'm not out there in that storm! I'm so thankful for this nice safe place. I will never run off on my own again, thought Jenny.

Next door, Mr. Brown sat in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee with his wife when the unusual noises and uproar coming from down the road caught his attention. Looking out the window, he saw his neighbor's horse running around wildly, kicking and neighing.

"I wonder what's all the fuss?" he said to his wife. No sooner had he finished the sentence when he saw the rising smoke.

"Quick, Mama!" he called out to his wife. "Call the fire station. Get the fire engines out here right away. The Joneses are in trouble." As fast as he could, he hopped in his truck and rushed over to Farmer Jones' house.

Minutes later, the sound of sirens could be heard. Two fire engines arrived on the scene and quickly began to put out the flames. Farmer Jones and his whole family had been trapped up on the second floor, and were all rescued just in time.

The firefighters helped them escape through a small window and climb down a tall fire-engine ladder to safety. The house was greatly damaged, but their lives and the rest of the farm had been saved.

"Neighhhh!" George called out, as Farmer Jones laughed and stroked his nose.

"Yes, I've still got a farm and some wonderful animals I am proud of, thanks to the dear Lord."

The rest of the animals looked on with joy. They were so happy that they had played a part in saving their farmer, his family, and the farm. Little Jenny peeked out from under her mother's wing to see that all was well. Even grumpy old Hunter was wagging his tail happily.

"Jesus answered your prayers, Mama, didn't He?" said Jenny.

"Yes, He did," Mama Hen replied. "Yes, He did."