Read Online Blue Ribbon Blues by Jerry Spinelli - Free Book Online Page B

that.”
    Aunt Sally acted surprised. “You don’t like my hat?” She took off her straw hat and plunked it onto Tooter’s head.
    Tooter made a face. “Ugh!” She plunked the hat back onto her aunt’s head.
    “Okay,” said Aunt Sally. “No hat. But I do have a plan for making a farmer out of you. It has three parts.”
    “What are they?” said Tooter.
    “You’ll find out,” said Aunt Sally. She turned off the road into a dusty driveway. “Part one … coming up.”
    Aunt Sally parked the pickup in front of a large white house. They got out. Aunt Sallycupped her hands and called, “Helloooo there!”
    A lady leaned out of an upstairs window. “Hello, yourself. Is this Tooter?”
    “Fresh from the city.”
    “Hi, Tooter,” said the lady. She waved her arm. “Jack is out there somewhere. Probably with Cleo.”
    Aunt Sally waved and walked off. Tooter followed.
    “Who’s Jack?” said Tooter.
    “Your neighbor. Jack Hafer. He’s your age. He can be your friend. That’s part one—get you a friend. I called Mrs. Hafer and told her we were coming over.”
    “What if he doesn’t like me?”
    “He will. And he’ll be good for you. He’s lived on this farm all his life. He can teach you a lot.”
    As they walked around the barn, AuntSally said, “Well, chuck my chickens. Look at that.”
    Before them stood a boy and an animal. All they could see of the animal was its hind end.
    The boy looked up. “Miss Sally,” he called, “can you help me?”
    Aunt Sally and Tooter trotted over. Now the problem was clear. The animal was a goat, one of the few farm creatures that Tooter recognized. Its head was stuck between two rails of a wooden fence.
    “I can’t get it out,” said the boy.
    Tooter had an idea. “Pull the tail,” she said.
    The boy gave Tooter a dirty look.
    As the goat struggled, its front hooves knocked noisily against the fence.
    “You hold the neck still,” Aunt Sally told the boy. “I’ll work the head.”

    They twisted and tugged. The goat bawled and stomped. At last its head was free.
    The boy gave the goat a smack on the rump. “Bad, Cleo. She’s always doing that.”
    The goat walked off to graze.
    The boy turned to Tooter. “You
don’t
pull a goat’s tail,” he said sharply.
    “See?” Tooter said to Aunt Sally. “He doesn’t like me already. Part one is
not
going to work.” She walked off.
    Aunt Sally caught her by her back pocket. “Hold on there, missy.” She pulled Tooter back and turned her around. “You two haven’t even been introduced yet. Jack, this is Tooter. She’s your new neighbor.”
    “
Tooter
?” said Jack. “What kind of name is that?”
    “See?” said Tooter. She tried to walk off, but Aunt Sally still had her by the back pocket.
    “Tooter is a nickname,” Aunt Sally told Jack. “And a fine nickname it is. Tooter’s family lives with me now. They moved here from the city. Tooter wants to become a good farmer.” She tapped the bill of Jack’s cap. “And I figure you’re just the one to teach her.”
    Jack groaned. “Miss Sally, I already havelots of chores to do. Plus I have to get Cleo ready for the fair.”
    Tooter perked up. “What fair?”
    “The county fair,” said Jack. “I’m entering Cleo in the goat competition.” He lifted his chin. “I always win.”
    “Well,” said Tooter, “poo-poo-pee-doo for you.”
    Jack just stared at her.
    “Maybe I’ll enter too,” said Tooter, lifting her own chin. “Maybe my chicken will beat your goat.”
    “Hah!” said Jack. “Maybe
not
. Chickens and goats don’t compete together.”
    “Yeah, well, you’re lucky they don’t,” said Tooter. “Because if they did, my chicken would beat the pants off your goat.”
    “Yeah?” said Jack.
    “Yeah,” said Tooter.
    “What can your chicken do?”
    “Whatever I tell it,” said Tooter. “It sleeps. It sits.”
    Jack scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
    “And it sings ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ ”
    Jack laughed. “And