Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Sugar hopped up into the open car and rummaged around the back searching for the jelly beans. "Would be a lot easier with my glasses," she mumbled as she tossed things out of her way and out of the car. "AHA!" She pulled the bag of jelly beans out from under the fishing gear and had just popped a red jelly bean into her mouth and plopped herself down next to Poppy's shoe when she sensed someone behind her. She turned around, but no one was there. "Ha-hoo, ha-hoo, ha-hoo." Sugar stopped chewing when she heard the sound of someone breathing. She swallowed her half-chewed jelly bean in one gulp. As she peered around the edge of the car, a long, dark shadow appeared

at her feet. Her eyes went wide. Her heart raced. "Who's there?" she demanded, spinning around for a second time. The shadow was gone. "Step away from the vehicle," said a deep voice from behind her again. "Slowly, and with your hands up." Sugar turned around, slowly, with her wings up, to find a large speckled chicken with a wide face, enormous eyes, and a long gray string hanging out of its mouth, standing in the spot where, not one second ago, there had been nobody. "Take it easy, pal," Sugar replied. "Just grabbing my jelly beans."

"Those jelly beans do not belong to you," answered the large chicken. "They belong to the visiting cousins. Now do as I say and step away from the vehicle." "Ah, just a misunderstanding." Sugar chuckled nervously, taking two giant steps backward. "I am one of the visiting cousins." "No, you're not," boomed the large chicken. "I met them already. One's got a pointy head; one's got a notebook and a pencil; one has a big, round face; and the last one barely looks like a pile of feathers, she's so tiny. Cute little thing with glasses."

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"That's me," insisted Sugar. "I'm the cute one! Really, I just ducked away for a—" "There's nothing cute about you," declared the large chicken. "And besides, the cute one wore glasses." He picked Sugar up with an incredibly sharp pinch of his toes and held her off the ground. "I just checked, and all four cousins are still up by the house. They'll be making polite introductions for a good long while. There's another eighty-five more chickens to go until they get to the end of the line." "That's exactly why you don't recognize me," said Sugar, quickly hatching a new plan. "I know family when I see it." The large speckled chicken with the wide face, enormous eyes, and a long gray string hanging out of his mouth pulled Sugar in closer to get a better look. "And I do not know you." "Well, like you said, it's an awfully big family," Sugar declared. "Although, I'll admit, it kind of hurts my feelings that you don't

remember me. We played together once... down by the... pond." "We did? What's your name?" asked the large chicken, looking confused. Sugar thought of all the cousins she had met earlier. "My name is... Bugar." She regretted saying it immediately. "Booger?" But the large speckled chicken with the wide face, enormous eyes, and the long gray string hanging out of his mouth didn't laugh. "Who's your mom, Booger?"