Two feuding hens lose all but one egg to a weasel who sneaks in while they're busy squabbling. Now they really have something to fight about: Whose is the egg that's left? With poor grace, Dot and Zinnia squeeze together into one nest, brooding and maintaining ``an icy silence.'' Only after the weasel tries to eat them too, and they fight him off together, do they relax their antagonism and share their triumph--as well as the chick that hatches immediately thereafter (``He's gorgeous!...his feet look just like yours''). Only the subtly balanced colors (old straw, Plymouth Rock gray, Rhode Island red) are muted here; the brisk narrative and the vigorous pen strokes delineating the adamant hens are vibrant with action. A good choice to share with a group. (Picture book. 3-8)
