by BobA. Troutt
*****
Leftover from the Holidays
Cracked and Hard Boiled
It was another beautiful day in the little community of Hidden Cove. Winter was turning to spring. The crocus blooms set snuggled in the little patches of snow and ice that had not melted from the season’s last snow. The buttercups were adorned with three yellowish cups, some white and yellowish orange centers. Ah, yes! Spring was on the way. The sweet floral fragrance of flowers roamed through the gentle spring breeze. With a song in their hearts, the birds chirped as the new greenish buds began to open. Yes, spring was just around the corner.
Not far from the little community of Hidden Cove, way back in the woods, there was a path that ran through it called Bunny Lane. Now, if you went down Bunny Lane, you would find an egg plant named Cracked and Hard Boiled; it was owned by Jake and Jack Rabbit. Jake and Jack were twin brothers. They built Cracked and Hard Boiled, a business that processed Easter eggs for Easter, their busiest time of the year. Cracked and Hard Boiled was a large company. Part of it was above ground and the rest was underground. They usually ran three shifts during the Easter season. Jake and Jack Rabbit were very clever and tip-top business partners. They bought their eggs from henhouses all around. Their processing plant was one of the best around. If anyone was going to turn a dollar, it was Jake and Jack. They were both bold and unmovable; there were no splitting hares. Their workers worked hard processing the eggs. They ran the eggs through the washer and then hand sorted them by size. All of the cracked eggs were tossed out. Next, they were sent through the paint shop and then on to the decorating center. Finally, they were sprayed with a glossy finish and sent to the wrapping and box department to be shipped.
Day after day, hundreds and hundreds of eggs were picked, tossed, dropped, painted, decorated and boxed. There were red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, striped, polka-dotted, checked and even clear eggs.
“Honk, honk, honk,” someone yelled out when the horn sounded and the orange light flashed.
“It’s just another duck egg being rejected. Those sorters need to be more careful,” said Jake. “Those duck eggs can tear up our machine. They need to be a little more alert.”
“I’ll send a memo out today,” replied Jack, “and tell them to be more careful. We can’t afford any lost time. It’s our busiest time of the year. We don’t need for our machines to tear up or for anyone to get hurt.”
“Crank it back up!” yelled Jake.
“Yes, sir,” cried the worker.
“Good morning, Miss Bunny.”
“Good morning, Mr. Rabbit,” she replied. “Here are some papers I need you to sign for the shipment of cracked eggs going to Haunted Valley for Halloween.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “I’ll be glad to get rid of those eggs. They will be good and rotten by October; just in time for Halloween. Ooh-wee, they will stink up to high heaven.”
“There goes another duck egg,” said Jack when the machine honked again. “I wish we could find a way to filter those eggs out before they leave the henhouse. But, it’s hard to do that with migrant workers who are here and there each day.” Jack bent down and rubbed the top of his foot and laughed, “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, I just had to rub my lucky rabbit’s foot.”
“Do you feel lucky?” asked Jake.
“Yes, I do,” he replied.
“Thank you, Miss Bunny,” they said in unison.
“You’re welcome,” she replied. “I’ll get this information faxed right over to them,” she said right before the horn sounded again.
“Another duck egg,” exclaimed Jake.
Then out of nowhere a worker yelled, “What is that?”
Quickly, everyone looked around. Jake and Jack ran over to the conveyor belt.
“What is it?” asked Jack.
“What is what!” shouted Jake.
“Look!” screamed the worker. “It’s…it’s…it’s a baby chick.”
All the workers gathered around and oohed and aahed at the little back chick.
“The egg cracked open and it fell out onto the belt chirping,’” said the worker.
“What are we going to do?” asked another worker.
They all looked at each with blank faces; they were puzzled.
“Can we keep it?” inquired one worker. “It is so cute!”
When Jake started to answer the worker, another chick hatched and then another.
“What is going on?” shouted Jack.
All the way down the conveyor belt, little baby chicks were hatching everywhere.
“I have never seen anything like it,” said Jake.
“Me either,” replied Jack. “They’re all over the place.”
The workers started grabbing boxes to put the chicks in.
“What on earth are we going to do with all of them!” yelled a worker. “They are running everywhere.”
Jack spoke up and said, “I have a hare brain idea. We’ll run them through the paint shop and spray them different colors. They’ll lay colored eggs! We’ll give Easter chicks away to all the children. The children will take them home, feed them and take care of them. The chicks will grow up to be hens and we’ll be able to buy colored eggs at a cheaper price. We’ll resale them at full price, plus shipping and handling. I knew I felt lucky.”
Hurriedly, the workers gathered all the little chicks, put them in the boxes and processed them like Jack requested. Now, whenever a loaded truck left the plant with a load of eggs there was a shipment of chicks with them.
“There goes another duck egg,” said Jake when the horn sounded.
“Hey, Jake, maybe we can find some use for those duck eggs,” said Jack. “I still feel lucky.”
“I never thought about that,” replied Jake. “Let’s see what we can come up with over a tall glass of cold carrot juice.”
