Gray Goat and The Kids from Up The Street
Gray Goat and the Kids From Up The Street
1997
...He wasn't much of a goat as goats went. He had short, little, stubby legs. And short, little, stubby horns that weren't much good except to scare the kids from up the street. His fur was mottled brown and white and gray, but mostly gray. It was matted and dirty, and little red and yellow leaves stuck to him from Big Tree where he sat when he was tired or when the sun was too hot.
...On really hot days, Goat (he didn't have much of a name for himself) would wander up to Red Barn and sit in the shade there. The horses and pigs didn't much mind him being there, but sometimes Dog would bark at him to move and he would go back to the Big Tree.
...But today, Dog was in the house and Goat sat in the shadow of Red Barn and quietly ate some of the grass that grew there.
...He didn't much notice the kids from up the street when they snuck a peek around the corner of Red Barn. They spied Goat sitting in the shade and decided to sneak up on him and catch him in a little sack they had brought from home.
...Farmer didn't mind the kids from up the street playing in the field and in Red Barn. Their parents had a big Red Barn too and the kids from up the street knew how to behave around the farm. But they always wanted to play with Goat, even tho his short, little, stubby horns scared them.
...The kids from up the street quietly snuck up to Goat and threw the little sack around him.
...It wasn't a very big sack, but it was big enough to catch Goat. Goat jumped up and yelled a startled "Naaaayyyy!!". And with the sack over his head, he ran away, with the kids from up the street fast in pursuit.
...The sack covered Goat's head and he couldn't see where he was going, so he stopped to try and free himself. "Naaaayyyy!!!" he yelled in protest as the sack got stuck on his little, stubby horns. The kids from up the street caught up and started laughing at Goat's attempts to get himself free.
...All the commotion and laughing finally caught the attention of Farmer who came out to see what was going on. He told the kids to leave Goat alone and gently removed the bag from Goat's head with a big smile.
...Free from his sack, Goat tried to look as menacing as a little goat could. "NAAAYYY!" he called. Farmer gently patted Goat's head between his short, stubby horns as the kids from up the street ran home. His short, little, stubby horns weren't good for too much, but they did scare the little kids from up the street.
...Satisfied that his tormentors had left, Goat grabbed up the sack in his teeth and carried it back to the Big Tree.
...That night, Goat slept under the stars on his nice new sack-bed.