One summer evening, when her mother is going to a town meeting and her sister is out babysitting, twelve-year-old April Rose is left to bring in the sheep from the upper pasture by herself.
With her trusty little Icelandic dogs Lucky and Loki, the big guard dogs Tasha and Rufus, and Mom on speed dial, April is ready to prove she can take care of the farm without help. Although she assured her worried mother that she’s brought in the sheep many times, a “ little voice in her head” reminds April Rose that always before someone else had been home if something went wrong.
When she notices storm clouds gathering in the distance, April Rose decides to bring the sheep down early—then scolds herself for wasting time as the storm breaks loose. She puts away the blind ewe, Old Ma, and her twins, then dashes down the gravel farm road and across the bridge, leaving the gate open behind her so the sheep can go straight into the barn when the dogs drive them home. When she reaches the hill, the herding dogs, Loki and Lucky, are confused by the storm until April Rose takes charge and orders them to get the sheep. One ewe, Big Mae, at first gives her trouble, but April Rose realizes that the ewe was waiting for her lamb who had been left behind. Finally, the dogs seem to have gathered all the sheep and to be driving them down to the barn. As she starts down the hill in the soaking rain, April Rose stops suddenly and wonders, did she really have everybody?
I SQUINTED INTO the driving rain, mentally ticking off my fingers. Loki had run in with the flock, I just saw Lucky bring down Big Mae and her lamb, and Tasha was on the hillside looking back at me, wondering why I wasn’t coming.
Rufus! Where was Rufus? As our senior guard dog, he was always the last one in.
“Rufus!” I called into the wind.
CRACK! I jumped a mile as a bolt of lightning jagged across the sky, flashing against the underside of the black, roiling clouds.
Whew, that was close! I needed to get down off this hill!
Denne historien er fra May/June 2017-utgaven av Cricket Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra May/June 2017-utgaven av Cricket Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Tale Of Paddy Ahern
THERE ONCE WAS a lad named Paddy Ahern who trod the green hills of Limerick, Ireland, offering to help farmers with their chores in return for food and lodging.
The Pedestrians
EACH TIME HELGA Estby looked over her shoulder, the big cat was there. Crossing Wyoming’s Red Desert on foot, in the dust and heat of August 1896, was tough.
The Magic Gifts
A Basque Folk Tale
The Dragon's Scales
“THREE YEARS I'VE been waiting, when Torquil promised he’d return them in three days. I’m not waiting three more days to get back what’s mine!” The dragon punctuated his remarks with a smoky snort and a lashing tail.
The Water Bucketre
A Chinese Folk Tale.
Between The Pages
One rainy night, while alone in the castle library with her talking gargoyle, Marcus, Princess Audrey finds a book with the odd title Finding Angel. Meanwhile, in modern times, a girl named Angel is celebrating her thirteenth birthday.
Swim Buddies
I LEAN OVER the side of the catamaran and peer into the crystal blue water. This is my last chance, I think.
The Bushwhackers
I CAN’T ABIDE living one more day in this pigpen!” I groaned and rolled out of bed to pull on my dress.
As American as Appleless Pie!
NOTHING IS MORE American than the humble apple pie. There’s even an old saying to prove it: “as American as apple pie.” So it may come as a surprise that many early settlers who forged the trails of our expanding nation were often without apples to make this most American of desserts. As pioneers headed west in pursuit of territory and gold, they had to leave many things behind, including apples. Not only did life on the trail make fresh fruit like apples hard to carry and keep, apple trees were native only to the east coast, which made finding apples in the West nearly impossible.
The Man Who Built A Better Leg
THE CIVIL WAR was only a few weeks old when seven hundred and fifty Confederate recruits gathered in the fields around Philippi, Virginia. It was early June 1861, and as yet there had been no real battles. The men had eagerly volunteered, but most had no training as soldiers. Their only weapons were the ones they brought from home— old-fashioned flintlock muskets, cap and ball pistols, and a few shotguns.
