Anna on the Farm by Mary Downing Hahn, Diane de Groat Page B

name's Anna," Theodore says. "She's from Baltimore."
    "What's she doing here?" Homer asks.
    Anna opens her mouth to tell him, but Theodore beats her to it. "She's visiting," he says gruffly. "She'll be going home Sunday."
    "How come she's wearing boys' clothes?" Homer asks.
    "Ain't she got a dress?" Henry asks.
    Before Theodore can answer for her again, Anna says, "I have dozens and dozens of dresses. But on the farm I wear overalls. They're better for playing."
    Homer and Henry stare at each other as if they've never heard a girl speak for herself. "Ma would never let our Lizzie May go around in boys' clothes," Homer says.
    Henry nods in agreement. "It ain't proper."
    Anna sticks out her tongue at Homer and Henry, but they have lost interest in her already.
    "Let's go play in the barn, Theodore," says Homer. "We can swing on that rope your uncle tied to the rafter."
    Anna knows perfectly well she should stay on the porch and read in peace, but playing in the barn sounds like fun. "Can I come, too?"
    All three boys stare at her. Theodore looks embarrassed.
    "We don't play with girls," Homer says loudly. He glances at Theodore and adds, "At least me and Henry don't."
    "Especially not girls who wear overalls!" Henry puts in, speaking even louder than Homer.
    "Especially not girls from Baltimore!" Homer hollers.
    Anna looks at Theodore, hoping he'll take up for her, but he just scowls. "Why don't you stick your nose back in that old dumb book?" he mutters.
    Anna jumps to her feet, ready to tell him exactly how rude he is. But Aunt Aggie comes to the door and speaks to Theodore. "Anna is our guest," she says gently. "Let her play or come inside and sit for a spell."
    Theodore draws in his breath to argue, but the look on Aunt Aggie's face tells him he'd be smart to keep his mouth shut.
    "If I hear anything about your teasing Anna or being mean to her," Aunt Aggie adds, "I'll see that your uncle gives you a paddling."
    "Yes'm," Theodore mumbles.
    "That goes for you, too, Henry and Homer," Aunt Aggie adds. "I know your pa believes in the power of a good whipping."
    Anna is pleased to see the grins disappear from Henrys and Homer's faces.
    "Now, run along," Aunt Aggie says, "and have fun."
    The four of them set out for the barn. When they are out of sight of the house, Homer turns to Theodore. "Has Anna played with your pet goat yet?"
    Theodore grins. "Anna hasn't been near the barnyard since she tangled with the rooster."
    "You never told me you had a pet goat," Anna says to Theodore.
    "I figured you'd be scared of him," Theodore says.
    "Why would I be scared of a goat?" Anna asks. Ever since she read
Heidi,
she's wanted to be a goat herder like Peter and live in the Alps. She imagines herself leading her little flock across a peaceful meadow. She can practically hear the bells on their collars jingling. "I love goats," she adds.
    "Come on, then," Theodore says. "Billy's pen is behind the barn."
    "Billy is a boring name for a goat," Anna says. "If I had a pet goat, I'd call it Buttercup or Ivy or Morning Glory. Something pretty."
    The boys nudge each other and giggle. Anna supposes they think her names for the goat are dumb. Let them think what they like. Why should she care?
    As they walk around to the back of the barn, Anna smells a bad smell. She wrinkles her nose. "What's making that stink?"
    The boys giggle again. Theodore points to a dilapidated pen. The ground is muddy inside. In one corner stands the most wretched goat Anna has ever seen. It doesn't look like the illustrations of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" or "The Seven Kids" in Anna's favorite fairy-tale book. It doesn't look like Peter's goats in
Heidi,
either. This goat is skinny. Its hair is dirty, and its beard, so snowy white in Anna's pictures, is stained yellow, rather like an old man's tobacco-stained whiskers. Worst of all are its eyes. They're yellow and small and mean. It has sharp horns, too.
    Anna holds her nose to block the scruffy old goat's smell. "That's