It was¹ Mary's birthday. She received² a letter from her uncle who was a farmer.

 

"Dear Mary," the letter said³.

 

"Happy Birthday. I am sending you some chickens. They will arrive tomorrow. I hope⁴ you like them. Best wishes, Uncle Toby."

 

Mary was very pleased⁵. She liked eating eggs and she liked eating chicken. "I can keep the chickens for their eggs or eat them," she thought⁶.

 

When the chickens arrived the next day, they were in a box.

 

Mary was very excited⁷. She took⁸ the box off⁹ the back of the truck and began to carry it into her garden.

 

However¹⁰, the box of chickens was heavy and she dropped it.

 

The box fell¹¹ to the ground¹² and broke¹³. The chickens all ran¹⁴ out.

 

They ran everywhere -- into neighbors¹⁵' gardens, into the road, into shops, even¹⁶ into the next street. Mary spent hours trying to find them and take them back to her garden.

 

A few¹⁷ days later¹⁸ her uncle came¹⁹ to visit her.

 

"Did²⁰ the chickens arrive safely²¹?" he asked Mary.

 

"Yes, Uncle Toby," Mary said. "But I had²² a lot of trouble²³ with them. I dropped the box. It broke open and the chickens ran everywhere. I spent the whole²⁴ morning looking for them."

 

"Did you find them all?" her uncle asked.

 

"I hope so," Mary replied²⁵. "I caught eleven of them."

 

"That's very interesting," her uncle said with a smile, "because I only sent you six."

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