Emerson and Princess Peep

Princess Peep

The days pass, and the girls are beginning to feel like it’ll be forever until the baby chicks hatch. Emerson explains that’s why she performs for Queen Ruby, so she doesn’t get bored.

At last, after three weeks pass, the girls and Aunt Miranda hear a peep, peep, peep coming from the nest. The girls look inside to see a little hole that was pecked from inside the eggshell. Then, the chick makes the hole bigger, until it completely cracks. And then, the egg wobbles, and the chick pushes itself out. It says Peep peep peep. Peep peep peep repeatedly.

Emerson kneels down so that she’s at eye level with the chick. She begins singing the “Happy Birthday” song to the baby chick, who’s all wet and scrawny. Emerson says the should name her Princess Peep, since she’s always peeping so much.

But the more Princess Peep peeps, the less she sounds like a princess. She sounds like a poor, baby chick calling out to its mother. But, Queen Ruby seems uninterested in coming back to the nest. Instead, Queen Ruby jumps out of the coop and walks away.

Willa, looking through the chicken book, says they only have a few hours to get Princess Peep to warmth, until she’ll die. She needs to stay at about 100° Fahrenheit.

Aunt Miranda suggests they make an incubator in the greenhouse for her. An incubator is a special box with a heat lamp. Maybe if they take Princess Peep away, Queen Ruby will come back to sit on the other eggs. Emerson stays with Princess Peep while the others rush off to make their incubator.