1
Pa never told stories like Grandpa. Or treated the barn like family. Eli knew how Grandpa’s own pa had built the barn by hand, hauling bluestone for the foundation behind a stubborn ox with horns as wide as a tractor. How the smell of the plank walls was like family and how you never washed your chore coat so the animals would smell that you were family, too.Sandra Neil Wallace
2
They got a manure machine in there, ” Keller said. He went up to the barn and peeked through a hole between tow boards. “On wheels. It’s fun to ride sometimes, when you don’t care how you smell.Sandra Neil Wallace
3
Little Joe was still behind him. Eli could feel it. He wanted to look back, but he couldn’t. The tears were too close. If he were Fancy, he’d turn around and kick and buck and moo and do just about anything to keep his calf near. But Eli wasn’t Fancy; he was a farmer.Sandra Neil Wallace
4
Gusty McCabe, tha's m' name and tellin' stories, tha's m' game, If they all ain't true I ain't t' blame, I'll tell 'em all just the same.Gusty McCabe
5
Katrina held Bram in her arms, speaking softly, reassuringly, as they approached baby Modoc.This was an important moment, a beginning, for she knew the boy would spend his life with animals, especially elephants, and the meeting was of utmost importance. Neither the elephant nor the baby said a word. All was quiet as they looked at each other. Mo’s small trunk wormed its way up, reaching to the baby. As Bram leaned over, his little hand pulled loose from Katrina’s grasp found its way down toward the trunk. A finger extended to meet the tip of the trunk. Bram’s expression was one of curiosity; he felt the wet tip, Modoc moved her “finger” all around Bram’s hand, sliding it across each finger and the palm. A big tickle grin spread across Bram’s face, Modoc did her elephant “chirp, ” a tear glistened as it ran down Katrina’s face. All was well. The future had been written. .Ralph Helfer
6
Fortunately the Omanis are generally very friendly and in no time at all, I had a knight in shining white dishdasha offering to help me.Charlotte Smith