Along Came a Dog, by Meindert DeJong

 

I should have enjoyed this book more, probably, but it described farm life in such a blunt way that I found it incredibly off-putting and it was difficult for me.

"The man" works for a farmer but has a flock of chickens that he cares for. As winter is ending, he discovers that his little red hen HAS FROZEN ALL OF HER TOES and they literally drop off as she tries to walk. The book contains other upsetting descriptions of the chicken trying to hobble along on her little ankle nubbins and care for herself among a flock that immediately demotes her to the bottom of the pecking order.

But the real protagonist of this story is a stray dog, who wanders into the barnyard hoping to find a home there, since he can sense that The man is good and kind to animals. He sets himself up as the secret guardian of the little red hen and spends the book defending her (and by extension, all the flock) and hoping he will eventually be welcomed into the farm family, although the man does catch him twice and abandon him far away.

It's just an animal story for a different time that didn't speak to me in the way it was meant to.