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Sandy Van Den Bogaard
visits the Farm Animals ©Best $22

With love from,
Jennifer and Tony
You are a great helper, 2008

Clickety-clack. Clickety-clack. The train was speeding through the countryside. Sandy Van Den Bogaard, age 5, of Pukekohe, listened to the sound of the train tracks below her. Sandy was excited because she had been invited to spend the day on a farm. It was going to be a wonderful adventure!

 "I just wish Michelle, Ella and Joe could be here, too," thought Sandy. The first stop Sandy made was a field where goats and sheep were munching on the grass.

"H-e-e-llo," bleated the goat. "You can talk!" shouted Sandy. "Ye-e-e-es," answered the goat. "And we eat just about anything, including garbage."

"Yuck, that sounds terrible," said Sandy.

 A sheep came up to Sandy and said, "Soon we're going to get our wool shaved off so people can make clothes out of it. But it won't hurt. It feels just like when you get a haircut."

 Just then the sound of squeals filled the air. Sandy ran over to a mother pig and her babies. "Wow," said Sandy. "Nine baby pigs! That's a lot!"

"Oink, oink. It sure is," agreed Mrs. Pig. "And they're all hungry! Stop crowding, children. There's plenty for everyone." Mrs. Pig smiled and said, "Did you know that pigs are often the smartest animals on a farm?"

"No ma'am, I didn't," said Sandy. "But thank you for telling me." 

Sandy heard the sound of someone fighting nearby. She ran over to investigate.

"Quack, quack," said a duck. "That seed belongs to me!"
"Cluck, cluck," said a chicken. "The farmer left it here for me!"

"Don't fight," said Sandy with a laugh. "There's plenty for everyone!" So she reached into the seed bag and tossed lots more grain to the hungry chickens and ducks.

 Sandy decided to take a fishing break, but the sky was getting a little dark. She put down her fishing pole and said to a friendly dog, "There's a storm coming.

I must warn all the animals and take them back to the barn." The dog look up at the clouds and agreed, "Woof, woof. Let's go tell the others."

Soon all the animals were happy and dry in the barn. Sandy held a kitten in her lap which was purring as it licked her hand.

"Meow, meow. Thanks to you, Sandy, all the animals are safe and sound," purred the kitten. "That was fast thinking to bring the animals back to the barn." Before too long, the storm ended and the sky became a beautiful blue color again.

The sun came out and was shining. Sandy was feeling very warm and happy as she went skipping through the field. She saw a farmer on a tractor working in a hayfield.

"In school we learned that farmers harvest hay during the summer and store it in a barn so the cows and horses would have food during the winter," said Sandy.

Suddenly, a herd of horses galloped past. Sandy quickly jumped out of their way. One horse stopped right next to her.  

"Neigh, neigh. Thank you for helping all the farm animals during the storm," said the horse. "Jump up and let me take you for a ride!"

Sandy hopped on the horse's back, and away they rode over the hill. "I wish Michelle, Ella and Joe could see me right now," said Sandy.

Towards the end of the day, there was just one more chore left. Sandy ran to watch the final roundup of the cows.

"Moo-oo-ove out of the way!" a huge cow bellowed as Sandy opened the corral gate. "Sandy, you were such a big help today that we'd like you to spend the night camping with us," said the farmer.

"That sounds great," said Sandy. The farmer made a call to Pukekohe, and got permission for Sandy to stay. All the animals of the woods looked on as Sandy and the farmer set up camp.

They laughed when a startled night owl whistled, "Whoo, whoo, who's there?"

As night approached, Sandy and the farmer roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories. Before too long, it was morning and time to go home to see Michelle, Ella and Joe.

 "I sure wish you could stay longer and help us out," said the farmer. "Thanks," said Sandy. "But I've got to go back to Pukekohe, I promise I'll come back again and visit soon!"