Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. The train was speeding through the countryside.
Kevin John Smith, age 8, of Maui, Hawaii, listened to the sound of the train tracks below him.
Kevin 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 George, Sally, and Mimi could be here, too,” thought Kevin.
The first stop Kevin made was a field where goats and sheep were munching on the grass.
“H-e-e-llo,” bleated the goat.
“You can talk!” shouted Kevin.
“Ye-e-e-es,” answered the goat. “And we eat just about anything, including garbage.”
“Yuck, that sounds terrible,” said Kevin.
A sheep came up to Kevin and said, “Soon we’re going to have 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. Kevin ran over to a mother pig and her babies.
“Wow,” said Kevin. “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 Kevin. “But thank you for telling me.”
Kevin 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 Kevin 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.
Kevin 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 the animals were happy and dry in the barn. Kevin held a kitten in his lap
which was purring as it licked his hand.
“Meow, meow. Thanks to you, Kevin, 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. Kevin was feeling very warm and happy as he went
skipping into 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 Kevin.
Suddenly a herd of horses galloped past. Kevin 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!”
Kevin hopped on the horse’s back, and away they rode over the hill.
“I wish George, Sally, and Mimi could see me right now,” said Kevin.
Towards the end of the day, there was just one more chore left. Kevin ran to watch the
final roundup of the cows.
“Moo-oo-ove out of the way! A huge cow bellowed as Kevin opened the corral gate.
“Kevin, 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 Kevin.
The farmer made a call to Maui, Hawaii and got permission for Kevin to stay.
All the animals of the wood looked on as Kevin and the farmer set up camp. They laughed
when a startled night owl whistled, “Whoo, whoo, who’s there?”
As night approached, Kevin and the farmer roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories.
Before too long, it was morning and time to go home to see George, Sally, and
Mimi.
“I sure wish you could stay longer and help us out,” said the farmer.
“Thanks,” said Kevin. “But I’ve got to go back to Maui, Hawaii. I promise I’ll come back
again and visit soon!”
Kevin John Smith
Enjoy this book.
A special gift from
Grandma Kate