with pleasure. It was kind of fun putting the zoo to bed.
The barn smelled like dust, hay, horse, and other good smells. So much better than that tractor shed she was going to finish tomorrow. The goose followed her around as she went to the stall where the goat had joined the mini.
“Gonna sleep with your good buddy, Bob?” Sunny rubbed the goat behind the ears. “Don’t worry, I’ll remember to shut the barn door,” she told Which Way, who was unconvinced and kept following her. She snuggled her head onto the top of the platinum silver mane of the mini. “What
is
your name?”
The mini snorted, threw back his head, and sniffed her ear for treats. She let out her own snort.
“How ‘bout Wuffle for a name?” The mini looked away. “No, huh? I’ll give you a rocko-socko name; don’t worry.” She talked to herself as she closed the barn door. “I’m closing the barn door, guys. You all see me do it, right?”
She would be a finisher. Just wait and see.
Chapter 12
What Am I Good For?
W ednesday seemed like two days glued together and each a hundred hours long. Sunny’s alarm went off—three times—until Uncle Dave’s hoarse voice yelled down the hall, “Turn that thing off or get up!”
In the living room, she spilled the water glass for his pain medicine and had to mop it up with a towel from the bathroom because she hadn’t unpacked the kitchen towels yet. When she opened the barn door, the zoo was already in the paddock through the paddock door—that she’d, um, forgotten to close the previous night.
“You’re doing a great job, Sunny.” Uncle Dave sat up on the couch, bleary eyed, as she brought him lunch.
Good thing you can’t walk right now. You might say something different
.
After schoolwork was done, Sunny brushed the mini and the goat, led them out to the corral behind the house, and twisted the spigot to fill the water trough. As soon as she unclipped the goat’s lead in the corral, he scooted on his knees under the rail, hightailing it to the front. When he stopped at the oval and started to graze, she walked back to the corral. Pulling an Esther pose, she placed her hands on her hips and addressed the pig and the goose that had waddled from the barn.
“You guys can come and go as you please. Just don’t make me chase you!”
With a couple of flaps, the goose was splashing and honking in the half-filled water trough. The pig found an old garden in the shade to the left of the corral and began to root a row in it.
“Well, someone could adopt Piggles and he can root up their garden in the spring,” Sunny said to the mini. She turned to the other animals. “What are you all good at?” It looked like Bob was going to be good at mowing.
Her question reflected her own problem. She’d been good at Great Ideas.
Been
good at them.
No matter. She’d get used to not having Great Ideas. She would simply have to find something else she was good at.
Back to school stuff. She caught up on the assignments she was behind in and video chatted with her mother and told her everything was going fine. She talked to Uncle Dave until he fell asleep.
Then she counted the hours until the Squad would arrive. She thought of the tractor shed a few times while she opened the endless boxes and put things away. Uncle Dave groggily said he did not care where things went as long as kitchen stuff landed in the kitchen, bathroom stuff in the bathroom, and so on. It seemed the pile of boxes would never go down. Some boxes were marked S HED . She groaned. Like the shed needed more stuff in it.
Taking a break in the afternoon, she wandered toward the corral. The water trough was running over and, from the looks of the mucky mini, the goopy goose, and the oh-so-happy pig in mud, it had been on since—
“Ughness!” Sunny slogged through the mud and turned off the spigot. “Great, just great.” No point in taking off her sneakers to save them; they were toast. She led the muddy trio back to the
The barn smelled like dust, hay, horse, and other good smells. So much better than that tractor shed she was going to finish tomorrow. The goose followed her around as she went to the stall where the goat had joined the mini.
“Gonna sleep with your good buddy, Bob?” Sunny rubbed the goat behind the ears. “Don’t worry, I’ll remember to shut the barn door,” she told Which Way, who was unconvinced and kept following her. She snuggled her head onto the top of the platinum silver mane of the mini. “What
is
your name?”
The mini snorted, threw back his head, and sniffed her ear for treats. She let out her own snort.
“How ‘bout Wuffle for a name?” The mini looked away. “No, huh? I’ll give you a rocko-socko name; don’t worry.” She talked to herself as she closed the barn door. “I’m closing the barn door, guys. You all see me do it, right?”
She would be a finisher. Just wait and see.
Chapter 12
What Am I Good For?
W ednesday seemed like two days glued together and each a hundred hours long. Sunny’s alarm went off—three times—until Uncle Dave’s hoarse voice yelled down the hall, “Turn that thing off or get up!”
In the living room, she spilled the water glass for his pain medicine and had to mop it up with a towel from the bathroom because she hadn’t unpacked the kitchen towels yet. When she opened the barn door, the zoo was already in the paddock through the paddock door—that she’d, um, forgotten to close the previous night.
“You’re doing a great job, Sunny.” Uncle Dave sat up on the couch, bleary eyed, as she brought him lunch.
Good thing you can’t walk right now. You might say something different
.
After schoolwork was done, Sunny brushed the mini and the goat, led them out to the corral behind the house, and twisted the spigot to fill the water trough. As soon as she unclipped the goat’s lead in the corral, he scooted on his knees under the rail, hightailing it to the front. When he stopped at the oval and started to graze, she walked back to the corral. Pulling an Esther pose, she placed her hands on her hips and addressed the pig and the goose that had waddled from the barn.
“You guys can come and go as you please. Just don’t make me chase you!”
With a couple of flaps, the goose was splashing and honking in the half-filled water trough. The pig found an old garden in the shade to the left of the corral and began to root a row in it.
“Well, someone could adopt Piggles and he can root up their garden in the spring,” Sunny said to the mini. She turned to the other animals. “What are you all good at?” It looked like Bob was going to be good at mowing.
Her question reflected her own problem. She’d been good at Great Ideas.
Been
good at them.
No matter. She’d get used to not having Great Ideas. She would simply have to find something else she was good at.
Back to school stuff. She caught up on the assignments she was behind in and video chatted with her mother and told her everything was going fine. She talked to Uncle Dave until he fell asleep.
Then she counted the hours until the Squad would arrive. She thought of the tractor shed a few times while she opened the endless boxes and put things away. Uncle Dave groggily said he did not care where things went as long as kitchen stuff landed in the kitchen, bathroom stuff in the bathroom, and so on. It seemed the pile of boxes would never go down. Some boxes were marked S HED . She groaned. Like the shed needed more stuff in it.
Taking a break in the afternoon, she wandered toward the corral. The water trough was running over and, from the looks of the mucky mini, the goopy goose, and the oh-so-happy pig in mud, it had been on since—
“Ughness!” Sunny slogged through the mud and turned off the spigot. “Great, just great.” No point in taking off her sneakers to save them; they were toast. She led the muddy trio back to the
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