Gilda Gets Wise

Gilda is a buff Orpington hen, and a member of a close-knit neighborhood of like-minded "birds of a feather." Everything is hunky-dory on the block until Gilda gets a letter from her sister. Evidently, Gilda's breeding is not entirely pure, because her sister is a black Orpington, and lives in a neighborhood some distance away, where customs are different than the buff's. Gilda's sister, Ethel Mae has come down with the deadly croup, and Gilda feels that she must go to her and do what she can to help. When Gilda arrives at her sister's house, Gilda does whatever her sister thinks will help her, even though Ethel Mae's customs are different and strange to her. When Gilda returns home, she is no longer the same. This disturbs her neighbors, who like everything the way it is just fine. Thank heaven, one of Gilda's neighbors opens her little chicken heart to the strange new bird Gilda has become. With the help of her empathetic friend, the unintentionally subversive Gilda breaks the imperceptible shell of intolerance that has surrounded the neighborhood. In the end, the results are perhaps worth the pain of breaking with conventions, and certainly more comfortable for those with "differences."