Farm Animals
Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. The train was speeding through the countryside. Shae Christopher Allen, age 5 of Chandler, Arizona listened to the sound of the train tracks below him. Shae was excited because he had been invited to spend the day on a farm. It was going to be a wonderful adventure! I just wish Cade, Ryan, and Britt could be here, too,” thought Shae.
The first stop Shae made was a field where goats and sheep were munching on the grass. "H-e-e-llo,” bleated the goat. “You can talk!” shouted Shae. “Ye-e-e-es,” answered the goat. “And we eat just about anything, including garbage.” “Yuck, that sounds terrible,” said Shae.
A sheep came up to Shae and said, “Soon we’re going to get our wool shaved off so people can make clothes out of it. But it won’t hurt. If feels just like when you get a haircut.”
Just then the sound of squeals filled the air. Shae ran over to a mother pig and her babies.
“Wow,” said Shae. “Nine baby pigs! That’s a lot!”
“Oink, oink. It sure is,” agreed Mrs. Pig. “And they’re all hungry! Stop crowding, children. There’s plenty for everyone.”
Mrs. Pig smiled and said, “Did you know that pigs are often the smartest animals on a farm?”
“No ma’am, I didn’t,” said Shae. “But thank you for telling me.”
Shae heard the sound of someone fighting nearby. He ran over to investigate. “Quack, quack, said a duck. “That seed belongs to me!” Cluck, cluck,” said a chicken. “The farmer left it here for me!"
“Don’t fight,” said Shae with a laugh. “There’s plenty for everyone!” So he reached into the seed bag and tossed lots more grain to the hungry chickens and ducks.
Shae decided to take a fishing break, but the sky was getting a little dark. He put down his fishing pole and said to a friendly dog, “There’s a storm coming. I must warn all the animals and take them back to the barn. The dog looked up at the clouds and agreed, “Woof, woof. Let’s go tell the others". Soon all of the animals were happy and dry in the barn. Shae held a kitten in his lap, which was purring as it licked his hand.
“Meow, meow. Thanks to you, Shae, all the animals are safe and sound," purred the kitten. “That was fast thinking to bring the animals back to the barn.”
Before too long, the storm ended and the sky became a beautiful blue color again. The sun came out and was shining. Shae was feeling very warm and happy as he went skipping through the field. He saw a farmer on a tractor working in a hayfield. “In school we learned that farmers harvest hay during the summer and store it in a barn so the cows and horses would have food during the winter,” said Shae.
Suddenly a herd of horses galloped past. Shae quickly jumped out of their way. One horse stopped right next to him. “Neigh, neigh. Thank you for helping all the farm animals during the storm,” said the horse. “Jump up and let me take you for a ride!” Shae hopped on the horse’s back, and away they rode over the hill.
“I wish Cade, Ryan, and Lucas could see me right now,” said Shae.
Towards the end of the day, there was just one more chore left. Shae ran to watch the final roundup of the cows.
“Moo-oo-ove out of the way! A huge cow bellowed as Shae opened the corral gate.
“Shae, you were such a big help today that we’d like you to spend the night camping with us,” said the farmer.
“That sounds great,” said Shae.
The farmer made a call to Chandler, Arizona and got permission for Shae to stay.
All the animals of the woods looked on as Shae and the farmer set up camp. They laughed when a startled night owl whistled, “Whoo, whoo, who’s there?”
As night approached, Shae and the farmer roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories. Before too long, it was morning and time to go home to see Cade, Ryan, and Britt. “I sure wish you could stay longer and help us out,” said the farmer.
“Thanks,” said Shae. “But I’ve got to go back to Chandler, Arizona. I promise I’ll come back again and visit soon!”