From Ennui Enigma: "On the eight day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." (fill in the blank) and write a background on it.
"Chickens?" The Irregulars looked at each other in shock, then looked back up at Mrs Hudson. "Why would he give you chickens for Christmas? You can't eat that many chickens at once."
"I could!" piped up little Sam.
One of the older Irregulars tossed a scornful look. "I could, but you're too little."
"Am not!"
Wiggins shushed them both.
"They weren't for eating," Mrs Hudson explained, laughing. "We'd just gotten married, and were living out in the countryside, not far from where I grew up. Chickens can be very useful, you know, especially for a young couple. We ate the eggs, and I used the chickens feathers to stuff cushions. Not as comfortable as goose feathers, but we were glad for what we had."
"But you really didn't eat any of them?" Sam asked, eyes wide with surprise.
"Well, we ate some. But we wanted to use them for eggs, so we couldn't eat them all or they'd be gone. Eventually we got a rooster, and then there were enough new chickens we didn't need to worry, but to start with we were very careful. It's still been my favourite Christmas present." She sighed, thinking of those days long ago, when it was just her, her true love, and eight noisy chickens.