The Egg and I, first published in 1946, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travails as a young wife on a chicken farm in rural Washington state. It was a blockbuster success as a novel, and was adapted into a movie and short-lived TV series. The movie, starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, was the source for the 10-film Ma and Pa Kettle franchise starring Marjorie Main.