Chicken Beat
Betty was the tallest kid at school. But the kids in her class made up silly chants (调侃) to her. They were always chanting, "Betty, Betty, long as spaghetti!"
Ella, Betty's classmate, was a cool kid. She could play the guitar really well. Wherever Ella went, other cool kids followed her. Ella didn't really like it when the kids chanted to Betty. But she never told them to stop because she liked being one of the "Cool Kids".
One weekend, Ella went to see her grandfather. Ella saw one chicken in a corner. It was weaker than the others and it didn't have many feathers. She asked her grandfather what was wrong. Her grandfather told Ella that if one chicken was different, the others would keep pecking(啄) it until it died.
On hearing that, Ella picked up the chicken. She could feel its heart beating so fast in its little body. She took it home without thinking twice.
The next day Ella saw Betty sitting by herself. "I'm going to talk to Betty." she said.
"Spaghetti?" a kid said. "Why her?"
Ella didn't answer but came to Betty. "You can play the drums and I can play the guitar," Ella said. "We should start a band."
"Sounds great!" said Betty. "What should we name it?"
"Chicken Beat," said Ella.
Later, Chicken Beat was such a fantastic band that it won every competition. No one made up silly chants anymore. At the same time, Ella's chicken grew into a beautiful hen, with long legs and soft feathers. She called it Betty as well.
