"Hey, hey, hey!" he said. "I"m surprised at you boys. There"s nothing wrong with someone being cautious about roosters."
Just then, some of the other children looked kind of scared, too.
"Why?" asked Lucille. "Is the rooster going to peck us?"
Farmer Flores shook his head. "No," he said. "That old rooster in there is a pretty calm fella. But that doesn"t mean Junie B. should be laughed at."
He smiled a little bit.
"Why, I"ve been around farm animals all my life," he said. "But every once in a while, I still come across an animal that I don"t get along with."
Farmer laughed. "In fact, we used to have a goat who nipped at me every time I got near him. And for years, I made my wife go in his pen and feed him."
After that, Farmer Flores winked at me. And Mrs. said I could wait outside the gate.
My shoulders relaxed very much.
I sat down on the gra.s.s outside the fence.
Only wait till you hear this. Pretty soon, Farmer leaned over the fence where I was sitting. And he was holding a baby yellow chick!
I giggled and giggled at that cute little thing.
"A chick! A baby chick! Can I hold it, Farmer? Please, please, please?" I asked.
Farmer Flores put the baby chick in my hands.
It was fluffery, and softie, and light as feathers.
"Oooooh, I love it, Farmer! I love this baby chick!"
After that, I put the chick in the gra.s.s. And on my lap. And in my straw hat. Plus also, I put it in my big, wide pocket.
I peeked at it in there.
"I wish I could take you home with me," I said. "I wish I could take you home to my house. And then you could live with me and my dog Tickle forever and ever. Would you like that? Huh? Would you?"
The baby chick did a peep.
"Hey! You said yes!" I said.
I turned around. "Did you hear that, Farmer? The baby chick said it would like to come home with me!"
Farmer shook his head.
"Oh, I don"t know, Junie B.," he said. "I"m not sure you"d really like having Spike grow up at your house."
I did a frown at that man.
"Spike? Who"s Spike?" I asked.
Farmer pointed at the baby chick.
"Spike, the chick," he said. "We named that little guy Spike."
I peeked at the chick again.
"Yeah, only Spike is not actually a good name for a fluffery baby chick," I said.
"I know, Junie B.," he said. "But Spike isn"t going to be a little chick forever, you know."
"I know," I said back. ""Cause someday Spike will be a big giant giant chick. Right, Farmer? Right? Right?" chick. Right, Farmer? Right? Right?"
Farmer Flores shook his head again.
"Well, not exactly exactly," he said.
I looked at him real curious.
"Well, if Spike won"t be a big chick, what"s Spike going to be?" I asked.
Farmer Flores took Spike back from me.
He held him in his hands. And patted his little softie head.
"Someday, Junie B.," he said, "Spike will be a rooster. rooster."
8/Confusion
I had confusion in my head.
"Cause first I hated roosters.
Only then I liked Spike.
Only Spike is going to be a rooster.
And so now what am I supposed to do?
I didn"t talk much after that. "Cause confusion takes a lot of thinking, that"s why.
Plus also, I might need counseling, possibly.
Finally, the children finished seeing the chickens. And they came out through the gate.
Then Farmer Flores held my hand one more time. And he took us to a field with wild flowers in it.
He said we could pick wild flowers for our mothers! "Cause that would be like a gift from the gift shop, he said.
After all of us had our flowers, Mrs. took our picture with that nice man.
And here is the bestest part of all!
Farmer Flores took off his hat!
AND HIS HEAD WAS NOT A NUB!.
I danced all around that guy very thrilled.
"Farmer Flores! Farmer Flores! Your head is not a nub! Your head is not a nub!"
He wrinkled up his eyebrows. "Uh... thank you," he said kind of quiet.
"You"re welcome, Farmer!" I said back. ""Cause guess what? Now I don"t have to be afraid of roosters anymore!"
I jumped up and down. "Now maybe I can be afraid of goats! Just like you!" I shouted.
After that, Farmer Flores looked at me a real long time.
Then he rolled his eyes way up to the sky.
I looked up there, too.
But I didn"t see anything.
Laugh out loud with Junie B. Jones!
#1Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus #2Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business #3Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth #4Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying #5Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake #6Junie B. Jones and That Meanie Jim"s Birthday #7Junie B. Jones Loves Handsome Warren #8Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed #9Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook #10Junie B. Jones Is a Party Animal #11Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy #12Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy #13Junie B. Jones Is (almost) a Flower Girl #14Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime #15Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket #16Junie B. Jones Is Captain Field Day #17Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl #18Junie B., First Grader (at last!) #19Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch #20Junie B., First Grader: Toothless Wonder #21Junie B., First Grader: Cheater Pants #22Junie B., First Grader: One-Man Band #23Junie B., First Grader: Shipwrecked #24Junie B., First Grader: BOO...and I MEAN It!
#25Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May.) #26Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha!
#27Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (and me!) Junie B."s Essential Survival Guide to School
Barbara Park says:"When I tell people that I grew up in New Jersey, they"re usually surprised to learn that my small hometown was surrounded by farms. And believe it or not, just like Junie B. Jones, I visited a farm on my very first field trip.I still remember the thrill of getting off the bus and seeing all the cows and pigs up close and personal. But the best part of the trip was getting to see the baby animals. I couldn"t imagine how wonderful it would be to live with all those little "pets" right in your own backyard.I was shocked that Junie B. wasn"t as excited about her farm visit as I was about mine. But then again, the thought of a mean old rooster with p.e.c.k.e.ry lips might have made me want to stay on the bus, too. And I never even considered the scary ponies..."