Shabbos, Mishnah 2. This mishnah deals with items that can serve in two ways: as animal feed or as fuel for a fire.
Bundles of straw, wood and stalks:
The subject is bundles of straw, of wood and of plant stalks, and the halachah depends on the purpose designated for them before Shabbos:
If he designated them as animal feed - they may be moved on Shabbos, since animal feed is not muktzeh.
If he did not designate them - the assumption is that they were meant to serve as fuel, and since they may not be burned on Shabbos, they are muktzeh.
Turning a basket over in front of the chicks:
The mishnah continues and teaches that one may turn a basket upside down in front of chicks, so that they can climb onto it and enter the coop or leave it, the basket serving them as a step. Even though the chicks themselves are muktzeh on Shabbos, the tanna of our mishnah holds that one may move a utensil even for the sake of something that is muktzeh, provided that one does not move the muktzeh item itself. And since the chicks do not remain on the basket but merely stand on it for a moment as they go in and out, there is no concern here of what we referred to in the third paragraph - rendering the utensil (the basket) unusable.
Set against this is the opinion of Rabbi Yitzchak, mentioned above, that one may not move a utensil on Shabbos for the sake of something that is muktzeh. According to his approach the case is explained differently: the person needs the place where the basket was standing, and once he has picked it up permissibly, he may set it down even in front of something that is muktzeh, such as those chicks.
A hen that ran away:
A hen that ran away - one may drive it along until it enters on its own into the place where it is to be kept. But one may not perform the act of 'medadin' with it, in the language of the mishnah further on: one may not take hold of its wings in order to bring it in physically, but only drive it. The reason: once its wings are grasped, a hen tends to lift itself off the ground, and it turns out that the person is the one moving it. The permission applies only to driving it along, in which the animal moves on its own, and not to moving it by the person's own hands.
"Medadin egel u'seyachin bireshus harabim" - one may lead a calf and a foal in a public domain:
One may perform the act of 'medadin' - to take physical hold of a calf or a small foal in a public domain and help them walk in a particular direction, by pulling their ear, their neck or another part of their body. Since they do not lift themselves off the ground, and they are heavy, the one leading them is not considered to be carrying them, but rather encouraging them to walk in the right direction.
"Ishah medadah es benah" - a woman may lead her child:
The same applies to a woman with her child: she may take hold of his arms and lead him in a public domain while he walks by himself, and she is not considered to be carrying him.
"Amar Rav Yehudah: eimasai" - when is a woman permitted to lead her child in this manner? "Bizman shenotel echas umaniach achas" - when the child is able to walk, to lift one foot and set down the other. In that case he is the one actually walking, and the mother is only assisting him. "Aval im hayah gorer" - if he drags his feet, and the mother is the one pushing and pulling him, it turns out that she is doing the pulling and the carrying, and therefore it is forbidden, for this is like carrying in a public domain. Even though she is not physically lifting him, the dragging itself is considered carrying.