Oh, No! Honey is Missing!

I let the hens out about 7 o'clock this morning. They came bursting from the run, eager to begin their day.
Eat, squawk, eat, squawk and hopefully lay an egg.
After church, I went outside to see the girls and clean their coop. I had made some popcorn, and took them a large bowl of still warm, un-buttered goodness. Chickens *love* corn, in any style.
I threw it onto the grass, and while the hens attacked it, I noticed that Honey was missing.
Was she in the nest box? Oh, joy! For the past week or so, she was giving signs that she was laying, but had never laid an egg. I'd seen Honey jump in and out of the nest box, but she hadn't really given us an egg.
Honey was obviously a slacker.
But after calling 'chick, chick, chick' and having all the other chickens come rushing up to me, and looking into an empty nest box, it dawned on me that my sweet Easter Egger hen had gone AWOL.  I really like this hen. She has little muffs on her cheeks, and a beard that gets wet when she drinks water. Saturday night she couldn't get into the coop. When I went outside in the evening dusk, Honey ran over to me. I picked her up and put her on the roost into the safety of the hens' coop.
Honey is curious, unafraid and adventuresome. Knowing this, I went to the front yard, calling her. Next I looked over to the neighbors' yards, but still no Honey.  I saw no tell-tale pile of feathers, as though a hawk or neighbor's dog had grabbed her. She seemed to have vanished into thin air.
I again searched the back yard, wondering if she was sick and hiding under a plant.  Then I remembered the little spot between the coop and carport into which she had gone the day before.
Much to my great relief, there sat Honey! I moved a few things out of the way, though I was sure she could have come out if she'd chosen to do so.  Still she sat, in a dreamy sort of way. I brought her some popcorn, she seemed little interested. Was she ill? Honey seemed perfectly content.  And then I saw it... a blue egg. She had laid an egg in her secret nest!
Honey stood up and got more comfortable, showing me her treasures for an instant, before rolling them back under her with her beak.
She had laid three eggs over several days, keeping them hidden from us all.

About 30 minutes later, Honey came off her nest, and out with her feathered friends to eat and talk. She came over to see what I had to offer her in the way of treats. While she was busy being sociable, I collected her eggs, not just three but four!
Four beautiful blue eggs.