A Very Special Pet

A Very Special Pet
by Nicholasa Mohr

Summary of A Very Special Pet

The Fernandez family lived in New York City. They had 2 pets: a cat named Marialu and a hen called Joncrofo. The family had bought Joncrofo to get an egg, but she had never laid any. She lived in the kitchen of the house. All the children in the family loved the hen very much.

The Fernandez family was very poor. Mr. Fernandez hoped to get a better job so that the family could buy a farm. Mrs. Fernandez was worried became Mr. Fernandez was ill and was not getting any better. She decided to kill Joncrofo and cook it for the family’s dinner. She told the children to go into another room, so she could kill the hen without them knowing. She planned to say that Joncrofo had flown away.

Mrs. Fernandez chased the hen all around the kitchen. When she caught the hen, it bit her, and she had to let go. She hit the hen with a broom many times until the hen was lying on the floor without moving. The children came into the kitchen because they had heard a lot of noise. They cried and shouted because they thought their mother had killed Joncrofo.

Mrs. Fernandez was sad. She knew she would not be able to cook the hen because the children would never eat it. The hen made a noise. Mrs. Fernandez picked it up, washed it, and gave it water and alcohol. Joncrofo recovered Mrs. Fernandez told the children the hen had been sick, and she had had to catch it to give it medicine. Then she started to clean the kitchen, and she dreamed of returning to a farm in the mountains.