Wednesday, 25th of Spring

The sadness over Alma's nightmare was short-lived when she remembered one thing: chickens! She would definitely be able to get a chicken from Marnie today. She got dressed and started right away on her crops so she would waste no time. She had tulips, strawberries, kale, potatoes, and a few parsnips ready to harvest – so much that she couldn't carry it all to Pierre's! She dropped lower quality items in the shipping bin and left the best in her bag to sell at the store. Then she watered her remaining crops, took care of Bisclavret, and went south to Marnie's.

When she got there, she checked the time and saw it was barely seven. Marnie wouldn't even be open yet! She saw Shane walking out on his way to work at JojaMart. "Morning, Shane!" she called to him.

He turned around and looked completely unamused. "I hardly know you," he all but muttered. "Why are you talking to me?"

"I'm going to visit your aunt to buy a chicken! Just thought I'd say hi and wish you a happy hump day!"

"I wish I were dead!" he answered, mimicking her sing-songy voice as he continued to walk away.

Alma stopped, not sure how to answer. "Um, well, see you around then! Nice talking to you." As she waited for Marnie's shop to open, she walked around the lake and Cindersap Forest, picking up forageables as she went, including some spring onions. When nine o'clock came, she hurried back to Marnie's shop. "Good morning, Marnie!"

"Howdy! Here about a chicken, I guess?"

"I am! The coop is ready for its first resident."

"Excellent. What would you like to call your chicken?"

"Oh! Um … How about Henriette? Seems fitting, right?"

"Great! I'll send little Henriette to her new home right away."

"Thanks so much, Marnie," Alma said, handing over her gold. Eight hundred seemed really cheap. Alma made a quick decision. "Let me get another one."

"Oh yeah? And what would you like to call your chicken?"

"Hm … maybe Little Red? Like 'The Little Red Hen' children's story?"

"Great! I'll send little Little Red to her new home right away."

"Heh, little Little Red. I'm really excited about this!"

"I can tell! It's nice to know someone who cares about animals like I do."

"Oh, speaking of that, I've been enjoying your book!"

Marnie's face had a strange expression of shock and confusion. "My … My book?"

"Yes, On Animal Care? I had no idea you were a writer!"

She paused a minute, still looking baffled. "How - How did you - find that?"

"Well, Gunther at the library told me that there are several books that have been misplaced all around town, and I've been helping him find them so he can restore them. And one of the first books I found was yours!" Alma scanned her face, wondering why she looked so puzzled. "What is it? Hasn't anyone else read it before?"

"No," she said faintly. "I … I didn't think it was ever published."

Alma furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Has Lewis or anyone told you about the old museum curator?"

"Yes, the con who disappeared with the whole collection?"

"Right, him. He was my neighbor. He lived in that house south of the lake that's abandoned now. He mostly kept to himself, but when the museum opened, I asked if he might be able to help me publish some of my research. It was a sort of pipe dream, I guess, but I thought it was worth a shot. He seemed interested, and I sent him my manuscript. Shortly after that was when vanished. So I just figured it was a lost cause."

"So are you telling me this is the only copy?"

"Not even that. It's probably my unpublished manuscript."

"Well, now that you mention it, it did seem pretty … amateur in its design and binding. But wow. Do you realize what this means? You could still get it published! And Gunther would absolutely include it in his library collection!"

"Oh, I don't know. That was a long time ago. Things have changed since then. My research may not even be relevant anymore."

"Well, I've been learning a lot. Granted, I don't have any animals right now other than Biz, but I'm getting good information for my future! And your care and expertise really seem to come off the page."

Marnie smiled. "Just knowing that is enough for me. I love animals, Ms. Alma. If you treat yours well, I'm sure we'll become good friends!"

"I'll do my best," she said, getting out some more gold, and as she dug in her bag, she saw the crops she was going to sell to Pierre. "Oh, hey, would you like some potatoes, kale, or onion? I was going to take some to Pierre, but if you'd like, I can give you some too."

"That's very kind, Alma. I do like a kale salad."

"Well, here you go then. Fresh from the farm just this morning!" Alma put a kale bunch on the counter with a smile.

"Thank you! Oh and how's that stray dog doing on your farm so far?" Marnie asked as Alma threw her bag over her shoulder. "He still seem to be enjoying it?"

"Yes, he's such a good boy. We'll see how he does around this chicken, right?" she laughed. "Have a good day, and tell Jas I said hello!"

"Will do. Come back soon!"

Alma went back up through the farm to see the chicks in the coop before going to Pierre's. They were such little things, and she squealed when she picked them up right in the palms of her hands. "What little cuties, little Miss Henriette and Little Red Hen! I hope you like it here on Paradise Farm! Here, let's open up your door so you all can explore and eat some tasty spring grass!" She pulled open the door and watched them carefully step out and go right into the grass, happily pecking and cheeping away. She squatted down to watch them and couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. Her first animals on the farm. She knew her grandfather would be so proud. "There you go, sweeties, you eat up and make yourselves at home." She headed up toward the cabin to the trail into town. Bisclavret came up to her on her way, and she rubbed his head, saying, "You keep an eye on those little chicks, and don't you dare hurt them! I'll be back soon!"

Alma found another lost book on the path into town, and as she dusted it off and put it in her bag, she could look up and see the clinic in front of her. "No more dropping by," she thought to herself. "It's obvious he's not interested in you." Instead, she went right into Pierre's and made quite a bit of money with the sale of all her crops. She wouldn't buy any more seeds now because there weren't enough days to harvest anything; it would just be a waste of money. And when she saw how much she had, she noticed it was enough that she could build a barn if she wanted to. She thought about what Dr. Harvey said, about taking care of herself in order to better care for others. Maybe since she had the coop, it would be a good idea to work toward the kitchen expansion next. Hopefully, funds would start snowballing and it wouldn't take so long to make as much money.

But today, she did also remember that her copper ax would be ready, so she went next to see Clint at the smithy. When she approached the counter, he didn't say anything but instead handed her the ax. "Wow, Clint. It looks great!"

"It should serve you well too and make chopping wood that much easier."

"Thanks again!"

"If you want to upgrade your other tools, you'll have to give me the correct ore. And you'll have to pay me a fee, of course."

"Yes, I'm aware, thank you. When I get more copper, I'll come back!" she said as she started to walk out. She was hopeful this would chop away at the logs on the farm, so she made a mental note to try it out when she got home. But for now, she decided today was another good day to try the mines. As she went up toward the mountain, she saw Linus, standing by the lake and looking out onto the water. "Hello again, Linus," she said cheerfully. "Whatcha know good today?"

"The crisp air of the wilderness is all I care to know," he said. "I live out here by choice."

She nodded. "And I respect that. In fact, I think it's quite honorable." He turned to her, a bit surprised. "You know, I have a bit of that same mindset for coming here. A lot of people back home thought I was crazy for just … leaving - to go somewhere I'd never been, do something I'd never done before …. But I wanted to come here and be close to nature." She smiled and gave him a spring onion. "You and I are more alike than I think you realize."

Linus nodded as he accepted the onion. "Kindred spirits, maybe, but still strangers. I'm sorry if I seem defensive or off-putting. I'm just - "

"I know. It's okay. I hope our friendship continues to grow - at a pace that you're comfortable with."

He bowed a little. "This is a great gift. Thank you!"

"Now if you excuse me, I'm going back into the mines today. Have a good afternoon."

"Be careful, miss. And thank you again."

She waved as she continued up the mountain path to the cave. She traded in some of her tools from her bag for what was in the chest and continued from level ten. But her time in the mines today was uneventful; a few slimes, a few bugs, and hardly any goods other than rock, slime, algae, and sap. She tried to make it to the fifteenth level, but it was getting late; she had learned from enough experience when to call it a night. So around midnight, she started heading home.

When Alma got to the farm, she unloaded her bag and looked out on the closest log she could see. She grabbed her new ax and took a swing, but it still wouldn't budge. "Dangit," she spat. She looked over, though, and saw a large stump. She swung her ax on that, and it started to break it up. She chopped and chopped until eventually the stump broke apart, and she was able to get some hardwood from it. "Nice!" she said, gathering up the wood. She went back to the cabin, put her ax and wood in the chest, and went inside the cabin. Bisclavret was curled on the floor, and she patted his head as she got ready for bed.

As Alma lay there under the sheets, she placed Tips on Farming on her chest for a moment and began to think about her future as a farmer. Now that animals were part of the picture, she wondered what she would identify more as - a rancher or a tiller? Sure, she would love her animals and would get as many as she could. But, she thought, the crops would probably always be her staple. So she decided she was more of a tiller. She smiled to think about this, and it made her drift to sleep easily.