Tommy lived on a farm.
He had a big brother.
His brother's name was Willie
One morning Willie ran into the house,
"Mother! Mother!" he yelled.
"The black and white cow has twins, One of the twins is little and one is big. Daddy said I could have the big twin for my calf!"
Tommy looked at his mother. "I want a twin, too," he said.
"You are too little," said Willie.
"You have to be big like me to take care of a calf. I will take good care of my calf. I will show him at the fair. You are not big enough to do that."
Tommy yelled, "I am too big enough!"
He ran by Willie. He ran on to the barn where the cows were.
As he ran, he yelled back at Willie, "I don't care what you say! I can take as good care of a calf as you!"
Willie's mother said, "Don't quarrel with your little brother, Willie. Don't make him cry."
"Oh, Tommy won't cry," said Willie "He is not a baby."
Tommy went into the barn.
The mother cow was there.
Both her twins were with her.
The little twin looked like the big twin.
It was just not as big as the big calf.
Tommy loved the little twin right away.
He wanted her for his own calf.
Tommy asked, "Daddy, may I have the little twin for my own? May I show her at the fair?"
His father said, "No, Tommy. You are not big enough to take care of a calf. You are not old enough to show a calf at the fair. You can show a calf there when you are as old as Willie is now."
That was not what Tommy wanted. He wanted the little twin.
Willie took good care of his calf.
When Willie went to the barn, Tommy went there, too.
He looked to see what Willie did for his calf.
Then Tommy did it for the little twin.
He did just what he had seen Willie do.
"If this calf can't be my own, I can take care of her," said Tommy.
"I love this little calf. I will take care of her just for fun."
Tommy took very good care of the little calf.
It was a very good thing that he did take good care of her, too.
You will find out why,
One day Tommy had something for the little calf to eat.
She ran at it so hard that Tommy fell over.
It hurt, but Tommy didn't cry.
Willie laughed when Tommy fell over.
"I told you so!" he said.
"You can't take care of a calf. You are not old enough. You have to be big like me to take care of a calf."
Tommy was mad. He was very mad. He yelled, "I can too take care of my twin! I am not too little!"
After that Tommy tried hard not to fall when the calf ran at him.
Day after day Tommy took care of the little twin.
He loved her more and more.
The little twin began to love Tommy, too.
More and more she did what he wanted her to do.
Tommy called the little calf My Twin.
How he wanted her to be his very own!
One day Willie took his calf out of the barn to let her run.
Tommy took his calf out, too.
When he tried to take her back into the barn, she ran right by it.
She ran so hard that Tommy fell over again.
He just couldn't hold her.
Tommy tried hard.
But his father had to help get the calf back into the barn.
Willie said, "I told you so! You are not old enough to hold a calf."
Now Tommy was mad again. He yelled, "I am too old enough! I take very good care of My Twin! I will hold her from now on! You will see!"
Willie said, "She is not your twin. Dad didn't give her to you."
"That's her name," yelled Tommy. "I call her My Twin."
After that. Tommy did hold his calf.
Day after day Willie did things for Big Twin.
One day he said to Tommy, "Look how high my calf is. I will make him a big calf and make him look good. My calf will get a prize at the fair. He will be the best calf there. You will see!"
How Tommy wanted to take the little twin to the fair!
Tommy just knew the little twin could get a prize there.
If he could just take her to the fair!
Tommy knew he couldn't do that. A boy had to be as old as Willie to show a calf at the fair.
On the day of the fair, Willie got up as soon as it was light,
After he had something to eat he ran to the barn.
He had to get his calf ready for the fair.
Tommy wanted to sleep, but he got up as soon as Willie did. He went with Willie to the barn.
The boys looked in the barn. Willie's calf was not there!
The two boys told their father that Big Twin was not in the barn.
Their father and Willie went to find the calf.
They didn't let Tommy go.
Tommy said to the little twin, "You can't go to the fair. But I will get you ready. I will try hard to make you look good. I want you to look as good as the best calf at the fair."
He got the little twin ready, as if she could go, too.
Soon a big truck came to the barn. A man jumped out of the truck.
"Hello, friend!" he said to Tommy. "Is your calf ready to go?"
He saw that the calf was ready. He put her right into the truck. He didn't let Tommy say a thing.
"Jump up here by me," he said. "You can ride with your calf."
"Let me ask Mother," said Tommy,
Tommy called, "Mother, may I ride in the truck to the fair?"
His mother didn't know that Willie's calf was out.
She didn't know that his father and Willie were not there,
"Yes," she said.
"You may ride in the truck."
Tommy got into the big, high truck with the man. Off they went to the fair.
When they got to the fair, the man in the truck said, "Come on! Hurry! Take your calf out. I must go get two more. I must get them here for the show."
Then the truck man called to a man with a big black book.
"Here is the calf from the Whites' farm," he said,
The man with the book asked, "Is your name White?"
Tommy said, "Yes, but I am Tom—"
The man didn't let Tommy go on talking.
"Put your calf over there," he told Tommy.
He began to write something in his book.
Tommy put the little twin where the man said.
Tommy saw the people looking around at the fair.
They were looking at all the things there.
They looked at the cows.
One man was looking at the little twin.
"I like the looks of that little calf," he said.
"She will make a good cow."
Tommy liked that!
The man with the book yelled out something.
Tommy didn't know what he said.
The boy next to Tommy took his calf to the man with the book.
Then the next boy took his calf over to the man.
All of them did that. All but Tommy. He didn't know what to do. He knew the little twin was not the right twin.
He knew he was not Willie.
The man began to count, "One, two, three, four, five, six." Then he looked at his book.
"There is one more calf," he said "I have not seen the calf from the White farm. Where is it?"
Then he saw Tommy and said, "Come on with your calf, boy."
Tommy took the little twin over with the others.
Each boy took his calf around the man with the book. Then the man said, "Stop!"
One calf didn't stop. He ran away. Two or three jumped and ran around.
The boys couldn't hold them.
The man said, "Take them away!"
The little twin didn't jump run around.
She did just what Tommy wanted her to do.
Each boy took his calf around the man again and again.
Tommy saw the man look hard at each calf and write in his black book.
Then the man came over to the little twin.
He had something that said First Prize.
All the people were looking at the man.
They looked at Tommy and his calf, too.
The man asked, "Is this your own calf?"
"No, it is Daddy's," said Tommy, "I am not Willie. I am Tommy. I am not old enough to show a calf at the fair. Willie has the other twin. His calf was to come to the fair, but it got away."
"Too bad!" said the man.
"You and this calf make a good show together. The calf is little, but she will make a good cow. We wanted her to have first prize. We can't give it to her if she is not the right calf. The prize must go to this boy over here."
Then the man said, "Tommy, come back when you are old enough. You will get the prize then if you have the best calf."
Just then Tommy's father came up.
"We did find Willie's calf," he said.
"We just couldn't get it here for the show."
Then he said to Tommy, "That is your calf from now on. You took care of it. You are big enough to have a calf of your own."
"Oh, thank you!" said Tommy. "My Twin is the one thing I wanted! Now she is my very own!"
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Anna was a little girl who lived in a big, high house, It was an apartment house.
Other people lived in that apartment house, too.
But they didn't live with Anna.
He lived with his little sister, Annika. and his mother and father.
They all lived together in one apartment.
Other people lived in the other apartments.
Anna and Annika didn't have a pet,
They both wanted one.
Both of them wanted a dog for a pet.
Each of them said, "A dog is the best pet for us."
Anna asked, "Dad, will we ever get a dog?"
His father said, "We can't have a dog in this apartment. If we ever live on a farm, you may have one."
"It will be a big dog, won't it, Dad?" asked Anna.
Annika said, "Oh, no. Daddy! I don't want an old dog. It will be a little dog that I can hold."
"You make me mad!" said Anna. "I won't have a little dog!"
"Don't quarrel," said their father. "We will see about the dog when we live on a farm."
One day their father came home from work looking very happy.
"Get your things ready!" he said, "We are going to the farm."
"Oh!" yelled Anna and Annika. "Will we live on the farm?"
"Yes, we will," said their father.
"What about your work, Dad?" asked Anna.
His father said, "I will come here to work each morning.
Then I will go back to the farm at night."
"Who will do the work on the farm?' asked Anna.
His father said, "A farmer will work it for us. He lives on the next farm. He will take care of the cow, too. You and Annika can help him."
Oh, is there a cow?" asked Annika.
Her father said, "Yes, and a little calf and goats. There is an old barn, too. You can play in it."
"Is there a dog on the farm?" asked Anna.
"Now," said his father, "That's one thing I didn't ask about."
Soon they all went to live in their new home.
They took their things in a big red truck.
When they got there, a big dog ran out of the house.
"Oh, look!" yelled Anna.
"That dog is just what I wanted!"
Annika was not happy. The dog was so big he scared her. She knew that he was Anna's dog, She did so want a little dog!
Just then Annika saw a little puppy! It was just the right puppy for her, She loved it right away.
The puppy ran right to Annika. She took him up to hold him.
"My little puppy!" she said. "My own little puppy! You are the cutest little dog! Anna can have that other one."
Annika and Anna had fun at their new home.
They liked to run and play with their dogs.
They liked to help the farmer work on the farm.
They could help him take care of the cow and calf and horse.
They could help him with the goats, They could do other things.
They had new friends there, too.
The farmer had two children, a girl and a boy.
The boy's name was Willie, and the girl's name was Tommy.
Willie came to see Anna each day, He was the best friend Anna ever had.
One day Anna said, "I will tell you what! Let's play cowboys. This will be my horse."
"Yes, let's do that," said Willie,
"I will be a cowboy," said Annika.
"You can't be a cowboy," said Anna, "Girls can't be cowboys."
"I don't have on a dress," said Annika.
"I can try to be a cowboy. I have seen girl cowboys in books."
"I will ask Willie about it," said Anna.
"How about it, Willie?"
Willie looked at Annika. "We are looking for a horse thief," he said.
"Can you catch a horse thief?"
"Yes," said Annika.
"Will you be scared?" asked Willie.
"No," said Annika.
Willie said, "All right, but if you get scared, you can't play."
"What are you playing?" asked Tommy.
"We are not playing," said Willie, "We are cowboys. We are after a horse thief. A thief got a horse from the barn last night."
"Not one of Daddy's horses?" asked Tommy.
"No," said Willie. "The horse thief is just make-believe."
"Oh!" said Tommy.
"We must catch that thief!"
"That's right!" said Willie.
"Let's find him! To horse, boys!" he yelled.
Each of the children got on a make-believe horse.
They went after the make-believe thief.
They didn't catch the thief, but they had fun.
"I know what let's do," said Willie.
"Let's sleep in the barn all night,
If the horse thief came in the night, we could catch him."
"That's right!" said Anna. "If we sleep in the barn, we can catch him."
"Yes, let's sleep in the barn," said Tommy and Annika.
Willie said, "You can't do it, Annika, You will get scared if you do."
"No, I won't!" said Annika.
"Yes, you will," said Willie. "You will get scared and cry."
"I won't get scared!" said Annika. "I want to sleep in the barn." She began to cry.
"Oh, all right," said Willie. "But if you get scared, you can't be a cowboy."
Willie and Tommy ran home to ask if they could sleep in the barn.
Anna and Annika talked to their mother and father about it.
The mothers and fathers said the children could sleep there.
That night the four children went to make up their beds in the barn. They took the two dogs with them. They soon had their beds ready.
At first they talked and laughed together.
Then one by one they went to sleep.
That night something out by the barn said, "Who! Who! Who!"
Anna heard it. He sat up in bed.
Again he heard it say, "Who! Who! Who!"
Anna was scared. He wanted to be back in his own little bed.
"Who! Who! Who!" the noise came again.
Anna got up and went out of the barn.
He ran to the house and got into his own bed.
It felt so good!
"My bed is the best bed of all," said Anna, as he went back to sleep,
Soon Tommy heard a noise. She sat up in bed. The noise was in the barn. Tommy looked all around, but she couldn't find out what it was, Then she heard the noise again.
Tommy was scared!
She ran out of the barn.
She ran back to her house.
She got into her own bed.
It felt so good!
Soon she went back to sleep.
It began to rain. Willie heard it and sat up. He didn't know what the noise was, but he didn't like it. It scared him. He wanted to be at home.
Willie got up and went out.
He got very wet in the rain as he ran home.
When he got there, he took off his wet things.
Then he got into his own bed.
It felt so good!
It was the best bed he ever had!
The moon was down, and the night was black.
Now Annika heard something. She sat up in bed.
Annika said, "Anna! What is that?" She heard no one.
She called, "Willie! Tommy!" Again she heard no one.
Annika looked around and saw that the other children were not there.
Annika began to get scared, but she didn't cry.
Just then she felt something.
She looked down.
There was her little dog by her,
Annika took the little dog up to hold him.
He got up close to her. He felt so good!
Both Annika and the little dog went back to sleep close together.
Morning came. There was no more rain. As soon as it was light, Annika went back to the house.
"Oh, Annika!" said her mother. "Were you scared?"
Annika said, "No, Mother. I am a cowboy. Cowboys are brave."