HILDA, THE HEN WHO WOULDN'T GIVE UP

True, Hilda the hen is a stick-to-it sort--but the story shifts from pure fancy to false reality to classroom natural history. We first see English hen Hilda trying to get a ride to a neighboring village to see her aunt's newborn chicks (how she got the news is no more to be questioned here than how she comes to have an ""aunt""); and, after various mishaps--aboard a garbage truck, a fire engine, a motor scooter (belonging to a nervous, novice-cyclist teacher)--she flags down a truck and reaches her destination. Then, taken with the chicks, she decides to follow sheep Sophie's advice to ""have a family of your own."" With nary a word about mating, she lays some eggs and tries to hatch them. But owner Mrs. Biddick has no use for a ""broody.hen,"" and Hilda's effort to sit on her eggs is thwarted until her tenacity comes to the attention of Miss Smith (the scooter-lady)--who rents her from Mrs. Biddick, eggs and all, to serve as a classroom project. And then we watch the children watch the eggs hatch. A total bust.