hen Michael’s father woke up, he took the two boys by the hand and they walked across the street to where the car was parked. Earlier the day had been cloudy, but now the sky was clear, or almost clear. There was just one cloud.hen Michael’s father woke up, he took the two boys by the hand and they walked across the street to where the car was parked. Earlier the day had been cloudy, but now the sky was clear, or almost clear. There was just one cloud.
“Boys,” said Michael’s father, “I have what I think is a good idea. Let’s put the top down.”
“Yea!” cried the boys, and they all went to work unfastening fasteners and unzipping zippers and unsnapping snappers and tugging and pushing and lifting and grunting until finally the top was down and everyone was exhausted. Just then Michael felt something wet on his arm. A drop of water. He held out his hand. Another drop of water.
“Ohhh!” he moaned. “Daddy. It’s raining!”
Sure enough. That one cloud had grown bigger and darker and was right over their heads, leaking raindrops.
“Boys,” said Michael’s father. “I have what I think is a good idea. Let’s put the top up!”
“Ohhh!” moaned Michael. “I’m so tired.” He lay down on his back on the sidewalk.
“Me too,” said Stefan and lay down beside him.
Michael’s father put the top up and then pressed his foot on the starter. It went r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r and the engine coughed but it didn’t start. He pressed again. R-r-r-r-r, cough, cough. He pressed again. R-r-r-r, cough, cough.
“I smell gasoline,” said Stefan.
“Me too,” said Michael.
“She’s flooded,” said Michael’s father.
They got out of the car and lifted the hood. Sure enough, the carburetor was so full of gasoline it was dripping.
“We’ll have to sit and wait till it drains,” he said.
“Tell some more about Rainbow,” said Michael.
“What happened in the forest?” said Stefan.
They got back into the car and Michael’s father went on with the story. “We left off where the wolf, Waldo, took the hen, Rainbow, to his den,” said Michael’s father. “Well, as soon as they reached his den the wolf said,
“ ‘Little hen, I am going to eat you.’
“ ‘Me?’said the hen.
“ ‘You.’
“ ‘Right now?’ said the hen.
“ ‘As soon as I boil some water.’
“ ‘But I haven’t had my breakfast,’ said the hen.
“ ‘Now ain’t that too bad,’ said the Wolf.
“ ‘I will be fatter if I have breakfast,’ said the hen. ‘There will be more of me for you to eat.’
“ ‘Yeah? I never thought of that,’ said the wolf. ‘But you can’t eat breakfast now.’
“ ‘Why not?’
“ ‘This is still the middle of the night. Breakfast is in the morning.’
“ ‘I’ll just have to wait,’ said the hen.
“ ‘You’ll have to wait?’ said the wolf. ‘What about me?’
“ ‘You’ll have to wait too.’
“ ‘What are you trying to do, kid me?’ said the wolf.
“ ‘A poor weak little hen like me, try to kid a great big handsome wolf like you?’ said the hen. ‘Don’t be absurd.’
“The wolf turned his head and looked in a mirror. He was very vain, that wolf; loved to look at himself in the mirror, always putting stickum on his hair.
“ ‘What do you generally eat for breakfast?’ said the wolf.
“ ‘Oh, a little grain, maybe.’
“ ‘I ain’t got any grain,’ said the wolf.
“ ‘Or worms.’
“ ‘And I ain’t got any worms,’ said the wolf. ‘So it looks like I’ll have to eat you the way you are, right now.’
“ ‘You have no grain or worms here in your den,’ said Rainbow. ‘But I wouldn’t, mind just scratching around outside your den while you boil the water and set the table.’
“ ‘Set what table?’ said the wolf.
“ ‘I mean put out the knives and forks.’
“ ‘What knives and forks? !’
“ ‘I hope you weren’t planning to eat me in your fingers,’ said the hen.
“ ‘How do you eat chicken?’ cried the wolf.
“ ‘I,’ said the hen, ‘do not eat chicken.’
“The wolf thought for a moment.
“ ‘How do I know you wouldn’t run away if I let you scratch around outside?’
“The hen laughed. ‘A poor little twerp of a hen like me, try to run away from a ferocious intelligent superman of a wolf like you? Ha, ha, ha.’
“The wolf looked in the mirror again. He smoothed one eyebrow with a paw.
“ ‘I see what you mean,’ he said. ‘Well, go ahead. Eat up. Eat a lot. Get fat. I’ll call you when breakfast is ready. I mean when I’m ready. And listen, Hen. Keep clucking so I can hear you. If you stop clucking I’ll know that you are trying to escape. I’ll come out and eat you right away.’
“ ‘Cluck, cluck,’ said the hen.
“ ‘What did you say?’ said the wolf.
“ ‘I said “cluck, cluck,” ’ said the hen.
“ ‘That’s the idea,’ said the wolf.
“So Rainbow the hen went clucking out into the clearing around the wolf’s den, and the wolf went into his kitchen and turned on the gas range and put a big pot of water to boil. You realize, of course, that wolves do not have gas ranges and hens do not talk and this is all just a lot of nonsense.”
“But go on,” said Michael. “How does Rainbow get away?”
“Does Rainbow get away?” said Michael’s father.
“And the wolf gets killed,” said Stefan.
“How?” said Michael’s father.
“Make it that the farmer has a little boy named Jimmy, and Jimmy kills the wolf,” said Michael, “only not right away. Make it a longer story.”
“All right,” said Michael’s father, “but let me start the car first and we can finish the story on the way home.” He pressed the starter. This time the hood was up and the boys could see a stream of gasoline spurt right out of the carburetor.
“Boys, we’re in trouble,” said Michael’s father.
“Goody, goody,” said the boys.
“Goody my foot,” said Michael’s father. “I’ll have to walk to a garage. Unless ... maybe I can get that man over there to fix the carburetor.” He pointed to a man who was bending over the engine of his own automobile, parked across the street.
The man did try to fix the carburetor but couldn’t.
“I’ll give you a shove in my car,” said the man. “Maybe that’ll start her.”
So Michael and Stefan and Michael’s father got in the car. The man drove his car around behind them and began to push. He pushed and he pushed, but still the engine wouldn’t start. The man knew of a garage nearby. He phoned the garage and a truck came over and pushed the car into the garage and there a mechanic went to work on the carburetor. He took it apart.
“There’s a hole in the float,” he said.
“Can you fix it?” said Michael’s father.
The man shook his head. “Have to put in a new one.”
“How long will it take?”
“About an hour.”
“Goody!” cried Michael. “You can tell about Rainbow for a whole hour.”
“Oh, fine,” said his father.
They went out and sat on the steps of a house next door to the garage, and the story was resumed.