Lessons from a chicken

While bringing in some firewood for my mother’s house, I tossed a piece from the woodpile a few feet so that it would bounce around and shake off the spiders and their nests. The biggest Wolf Spider I’ve ever seen (perhaps two inches in diameter) stood proud atop the wood block, as if it hadn’t been shaken at all. I wouldn’t get within three feet of the intimidating creature. Just then, one of my mother’s backyard chickens, curious, approached the wood block. I questioned whether I should scare the chicken away, lest it get bitten by the formidable little spider. Before I could act, the valiant chicken bobbed its head toward the spider, gobbling it up and swallowing it.

We now know who is more courageous.