The Egg Crisis (one of my first published works)

Back in 1986, the Webster School district published an annual book as part of the Community Arts Festival. I don't remember how stories and poems were selected for this book, but the content was written by students from the local elementary schools.

While cleaning out my dad's house I found the book and while flipping through, stumbled upon a story that I apparently wrote. It goes a little something like this:

The Egg Crisis
by Lori Helms

It was a warm sunny day on the Herped Farm in Iowa. Molly was bored. She was restless too. She decided she would go out back. She stopped dead in her tracks.

There standing right smack in front of her were fifty chickens! The head chicken looked her straight in the eye and said, "We are going on strike." She looked pretty serious. "One more thing," she added. "I thought you should know why we are going on strike." "We are going on strike because we feel that we are not getting enough corn." Several chickens shouted out, "All right Georgia, that's telling her."

For two years the strike went on. Everyone in America was craving eggs. A chicken named Carmella layed an egg. A millionaire wanted it so much he paid $9,465,302. People kept begging the chickens to lay eggs, but they wouldn't lay.

Finally, Molly's father had to agree with the chickens. He told them the next day. There was great rejoicing from the chickens. They were so happy it was heard 95 miles away.

From then on everyone was happy. The chickens were happy because they got their corn and Americans were happy because they got their eggs.

THE END

I guess my knack for business runs deep - though maybe I should have majored in labor relations :-)