Once upon a time, there was a hen named Poupette, the most attentive mother on the whole farm. She had twelve little yellow chicks like rays of sunshine and kept a close eye on them with her binoculars whenever they strayed too far! As soon as a chick took a step, Poupette would run up: "Be careful, don't walk too close to the water, you'll catch a cold! Come and put your Josettes under your feet!" The chicks, although they loved her very much, sometimes found that their mother worried about everything and nothing.
One day, Poussinou, the most adventurous of the group, decided to sneak up on a big pile of hay. "Poussinou, get down from there! You're going to break a leg!" cried Poupette, panicking. But before she could catch him, Poussinou jumped... and landed right in a huge puddle of mud. "Oh no! You're all dirty, you're going to catch a cold!" said his mother, as she ran to get a towel. The little chick, proud of his jump, burst out laughing. "It's only mud, Mommy!" he said, shaking his feathers. Poupette sighed, half amused, half worried. "Very well, but you're going to have a bath to clean yourself up!" she declared, grabbing him and covering him with kisses. The chicks loved baths; it was a wonderful excuse for their mother to cuddle them and cover them with kisses. Despite Poupette's constant worrying, the chicks knew they had the best mother. She watched over them lovingly, kept them warm, and most importantly, she gave them cuddles after every muddy adventure!
