Bobby of Cloverfield Farm Part 8

Finally, they came to the Red Barn. The big front doors were open. Very wide and high they were, but the load of hay reached almost to the top.

"We must all scooch down," said Father, "or it will strike us."

So they all bent over flat on the hay, while Prince and Daisy drew them safely into the big barn.

"Now we must climb down the ladder," said Bobby.

"Wait a minute," said Father. "Sit quietly until I call you."

Father climbed down.

"Ready, Hobson," he called.

Hobson took Bobby over to the side of the load. There was Father standing below him, waiting with outstretched arms.

"Slide down, Bobby; I'll catch you," said Father.

Down the side of the load of hay slid Bobby, straight into Father's arms.

Then it came Betty's turn.

"It's so high," she said. "I'm 'fraid."

"Don't be scared; I'll catch you," said Father.

"Father'll catch you," called up Bobby.

Betty took courage.

Down she slid, down the side of the load of hay, straight into Father's arms.

After that load was pitched into the hay-mow, they went for another, and then another, all day long.

Every time, Bobby and Betty rode in the nest on top of the load of hay.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOBBY FORGETS]

IX

In a chicken coop in the back yard at Cloverfield Farm, lived Old Speckle with her ten chickens.

It was Bobby's duty to feed them. Three times a day--morning, noon and night--he would take the basin of corn meal and water which Mother had stirred up, and would throw it by spoonfuls into the coop for the chickens.

Old Speckle would call, "Cluck, cluck, cluck!" and the ten little chicks would come running to eat.

He would throw some corn or wheat in for Old Speckle.

One morning Mother said, "Here is the breakfast for the chickens, Bobby."

"I'll feed them right away," said Bobby.

And he meant to.

Taking the basin of meal in one hand and the basin of wheat in the other, he started toward the chicken coop.

When he was about half way there, he spied his new white rabbit poking her nose out between the slats of the rabbit-pen.

Bobby stopped. For a few moments he stood and watched her. Then he set the two basins down on the ground and went over to the rabbit-pen.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said to himself. "It won't hurt the chickens to wait a little while for their breakfast."

Bunny was so interesting with her long ears and her wiggly nose, that Bobby stayed fifteen minutes, watching her. By that time, he had forgotten all about Old Speckle and the chickens.

Next he went to a corner of the rail fence to see whether there were any more eggs in the robin's nest. He found four blue eggs.

Then to the Duck Pond he went to see whether the little boat he had left there the day before was still there. It was. He sailed it eleven times across the pond.

When he was through sailing the boat, he saw Rover coming through the orchard.

"h.e.l.lo, Rover," he said, "let's go to the barn."

And they went down the lane to the Big Red Barn, leaving Old Speckle and the ten little chicks still unfed.

"Why doesn't Bobby come with our breakfast?" thought the hungry little chicks.

"Why doesn't Bobby come with our breakfast?" thought Old Speckle. "My poor little chicks will starve."

Meanwhile the Big Rooster found the basin of meal and the basin of wheat.

"What a nice breakfast!" he thought.

And he ate it all up.

When noon time came, the dinner bell rang.

"Come, Rover," said Bobby. "Let's go up to dinner right away. It's a long time since breakfast."

Perhaps it was because he was hungry that Bobby suddenly remembered something.

Anyway, he began to run as fast as his legs would carry him and ran all the way up the lane, Rover at his heels.

And, as he ran, he kept thinking, "A long time since breakfast! But the little chickens didn't have any breakfast at all."

When he came to the spot where he had left the two basins, there the two basins were, but both empty.