Jasmine Green Rescues a Goat Called Willow Read online

  Mom turned to Jasmine, a puzzled frown on her face.

  “Goat’s milk? What for?”

  “Raw goat’s milk, it has to be. Not pasteurized. So you’ll have to get it at the farm store. If that’s OK.”

  “Why on earth do you want raw goat’s milk?”

  “We’ve been learning about how healthy it is. It’s much better for you than cow’s milk. And it’s really good if you have allergies.”

  “But you don’t have allergies.”

  “I know, but I think I might be getting an allergy to cow’s milk. So could you get some? Please?”

  “Well, OK, if you’re really going to drink it. I was planning to go to the farm store anyway.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Oh, and I’m going to Tom’s for lunch. His mom asked me.”

  “Remember you need to muck out Truffle’s kennel today,” said Dad as he lifted the tomatoes out of the pan.

  “Oh, yes, I will in a bit.”

  Manu gave her a puzzled look. “But you just did it.”

  “Well, I just had a look in there,” said Dad, “and it definitely hadn’t been done.”

  “But she was going to do it. Tom and her both had wheelbarrows, with shavings and hay and everything.”

  “We decided to take Sky for a walk instead,” said Jasmine. “We’ll muck Truffle out later.”

  She glanced out of the window just as a dusty gray truck drove into the yard, pulling a livestock trailer.

  Oh, no. It was Mr. Evans! How could that have happened? They had specifically told him to come to the gate on the lane. She had to turn him away before anyone else saw.

  Trying not to appear panicked, she left the kitchen as casually as she could. As soon as she was out of the back door, she broke into a sprint, waving her arms to attract Mr. Evans’s attention. He finished reversing the truck and braked in the middle of the yard.

  “Morning,” he said. “Is your dad around? Where does he want this kid?”

  As Jasmine was giving him directions to the field, the garden gate rattled open and Mom came out.

  “I’ll meet you in the field,” Jasmine whispered to Mr. Evans. “Tom’s there already.”

  “Can I help you?” called Mom.

  “No, it’s fine,” Jasmine called back. “He’s just going.”

  She turned to Mr. Evans again.

  “Go, now!” she whispered. “Quickly!”

  Giving her a look that made it obvious he thought she was a bit odd, he revved the engine and drove out of the yard.

  “Who was that,” asked Mom, “and why did you come out to talk to him?”

  Jasmine shrugged. “I saw him from the window and he looked lost, so I gave him directions, that’s all. I need to go and do Sky’s training now. Tom’s waiting. Bye!”

  She strode off through the orchard. Glancing back, she saw that Mom was still watching her. Only after she climbed over the gate did Mom turn and walk back to the house. As soon as she was out of sight, Jasmine broke into a sprint.

  Mr. Evans’s truck was parked next to Willow’s pen. Jasmine hurried over as the farmer opened the trailer.

  The little goat, who looked even smaller and cuter than Jasmine remembered, bleated pleadingly from the far corner of the trailer.

  “Oh, she looks so frightened and confused,” said Jasmine. “Can I go in?”

  Mr. Evans nodded. Jasmine walked in. Willow bleated piteously and pressed herself farther into the corner. Jasmine reached toward her and Willow bolted past her outstretched arms. Mr. Evans caught her as she tried to run out. He handed her to Tom.

  “She’s a bit skittish,” he said.

  “That’s all right,” said Jasmine, stroking the little goat and feeling her heart beating fast under her warm coat. “We’re going to handle her a lot. She’ll calm down soon.”

  Willow bleated, but she didn’t struggle.

  “She’s so soft and warm,” said Tom.

  “She’s had her first round of vaccinations,” said Mr. Evans. “She’ll need booster shots in three or four weeks’ time.”

  “Right,” said Jasmine. She could tell that Tom was giving her a worried look, so she avoided his gaze. How were they going to get Willow vaccinated in secret?

  Mr. Evans looked at the pen.

  “Should be high enough to keep out foxes,” he said, “but I’d shut her in at night, to be on the safe side.”

  Jasmine looked at Tom in horror. She hadn’t even thought about foxes.

  “We’ll shut her in the shed every evening,” said Tom. “Will she be all right in the daytime, though?”

  “Should be,” Mr. Evans said. “You’ll need to make that fence more secure at the bottom, though, or she’ll be out in no time. All right, here’s the movement form. Give that to your dad so he can fill in his part.”

  He held out an official-looking form. To Jasmine’s horror, it was several pages long. Buying farm animals was a lot more complicated than she’d thought.

  “OK,” she said, trying to sound casual. “Thanks.”

  She stared in dismay at the form. The blank boxes had headings like DESTINATION CPH OR SLAUGHTERHOUSE NO. and ADDITIONAL FCI. What did it all mean? How were they going to fill it in without any help? And where did they have to send it?

  “Don’t forget,” said Mr. Evans as Jasmine folded the form and stuffed it in her pocket. “It needs to be sent off within three days.”

  “Right,” said Jasmine.

  The farmer took a lemonade bottle filled with milk from the truck and handed it to Jasmine. “That’ll be enough for today,” he said. “She’s been fed this morning. I just need you to pay the balance and I’ll be on my way.”

  Jasmine pulled the money from her pocket. He took it, nodded, and returned to his truck. Without another word, he closed the door, started the engine, and bumped off across the field.

  “He didn’t even say goodbye to Willow,” said Tom as they watched him drive away.

  “Grumpy old farmer,” said Jasmine. She kissed the goat’s head. “You’re ours now, Willow. And you’re going to have a lovely life with us.”

  Tom stroked Willow’s face. “I’ll run home and get the tent pegs,” he said. “We don’t want you getting out, Willow. And we definitely don’t want foxes getting in.”

  He set off across the field. Jasmine sat on the grass to wait for him, with Willow snuggled in her lap. Jasmine stroked her soft ears. Willow nibbled Jasmine’s fingers. After a few minutes, the little goat curled up and fell asleep.

  “Sorry I can’t help,” said Jasmine when Tom returned with a handful of tent pegs, “but I’ve got a sleeping kid on my lap.”

  “Can you imagine?” said Tom, kneeling on the grass. “If we hadn’t bought her, she’d be dead by now.”

  He pulled the bottom of the fence down, hooked the tent peg through the wire, and pushed it into the ground. Willow opened her eyes and turned her head to watch him. Tom shuffled along to work on another part of the fence. Willow scrambled to her feet, her hard little hooves pressing into Jasmine’s thighs. Suddenly, she leaped from Jasmine’s lap and landed squarely on Tom’s back.

  Jasmine burst out laughing as Tom squealed in surprise.

  “Willow, what are you doing?” he cried. “Get off my back!”

  Willow turned around on his back, then leaped through the air onto the low roof of the shed.

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” said Jasmine. “She’s like a gymnast.”

  Willow ran around on the roof, sniffing at the edges, and then sprang back down to the ground.

  “Imagine if we could enter her in the agility class at the festival,” said Tom.

  The town festival was happening in a few weeks’ time. It was held on the town green, and the preparations had been going on for months. There were all sorts of stalls and competitions. Jasmine’s mom, who loved gardening, was planning to enter several of the flower and vegetable events. But the highlight of the festival for Tom and Jasmine was the pet show. Tom was going to enter his guinea pigs in the small animal event. Jasmine had wanted to enter Sky in the obedience event, but Dad had said he wasn’t quite ready yet.

  “Willow would be way better than all the dogs in the agility class,” said Jasmine. “It’s a shame we have to keep her a secret.”

  They looked at Willow as she sniffed around the bottom of the fence. When she found a section where the wire wasn’t securely fixed to the ground, she began to nudge at it with her head. They watched, fascinated, as she pushed the wire up with the top of her head, then got down on her tummy and started to wriggle underneath the fence. Jasmine went over and grabbed her.

  “Guess we’d better stick a tent peg in there,” said Tom, taking another peg out of his backpack.

  Jasmine held out her hand. “I’ll do some, too.”

  She set Willow down on the ground. The goat started to nibble at her jeans.

  “Watch out,” called Tom in alarm. “She’s eating paper.”

  Jasmine looked down to see Willow nibbling a corner of the bill of sale that was sticking out of her pocket. She gave a yelp of dismay. “No, Willow! Stop that!”

  With a jerk of her head, Willow pulled the form out of Jasmine’s pocket.

  The paper was fast disappearing inside her mouth.

  “No, Willow!”

  Jasmine pulled the goat’s jaws apart and fished out the form. One corner was chewed off and the paper was crumpled and soggy in places, but most of the writing was still readable.

  “Wow, we’re really going to have to keep an eye on you,” said Jasmine, kissing the top of her head. “You are one mischievous little goat.”

  By the time Tom and Jasmine had finished fixing the fence, Willow had worn herself out with all the leaping around. They introduced her to her new shed, and after nosing around for a bit
and eating some of the hay and grain, she snuggled down in her soft hay bed. They left her sleeping peacefully and walked to Tom’s house for lunch.

  Jasmine frowned as she saw a familiar car parked on the lane outside Tom’s cottage.

  “What’s my mom doing here? Is she spying on me?”

  “Oh, I think my mom’s giving her some clothes I’ve grown out of, for Manu,” said Tom.

  As they walked up the path, they could hear their mothers’ voices through the open kitchen window.

  “They do get some funny ideas, don’t they?” Miss Mel was saying. “Tom’s just randomly decided he wants to drink goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk. Only raw goat’s milk, too, would you believe?”

  Tom and Jasmine stopped walking and shot each other fearful glances. Were they going to be found out?

  “How strange,” said Mom. “Jasmine’s decided exactly the same thing. She gave me a whole lecture about the health benefits of raw goat’s milk. Said they’d been learning about it. Their teacher clearly has a lot to answer for.”

  “Well, I wish I was half as persuasive as she is,” said Miss Mel. “Tom clearly pays a lot more attention to Miss Hamblin’s advice then he ever does to mine.”

  “Oh, they all do,” said Mom. She started talking about something Manu had said the other day, and Tom and Jasmine stopped listening.

  “Phew,” said Tom as they walked into the house. “Thank goodness they didn’t suspect anything.”

  As soon as they had eaten and Tom’s mom was safely out of the way, they heated up a pan of Mr. Evans’s goat’s milk, poured it into the feeding bottle, and walked back to the horse paddock. As they climbed over the gate, they could see Willow in her pen. She was standing at the fence on her hind legs, her front hooves planted on the chicken wire, watching the sheep.

  “Oh, poor Willow,” said Jasmine. “She looks lonely.”

  “What if we let her out for a bit to play with the lambs?” asked Tom. “Just while we’re here, I mean.”

  “As long as she comes back when we call her,” said Jasmine. “We can’t risk her running off.”

  “Maybe we’d better wait a few days,” said Tom, “until she really knows us.”

  “Willow!” called Jasmine. “We’re back!”

  Willow turned her head. Seeing the children, she ran to the gate of her pen, bleating and wiggling her tail. As Jasmine opened the gate, Willow nuzzled against her and rubbed her head against Jasmine’s leg. Then, as if to show that she loved them both, she skipped across to Tom and rubbed her head against his leg, too.

  “She’s bonded with us already,” said Tom, stroking her soft neck.

  “Or she’s hungry,” said Jasmine. “Maybe she can smell the milk.”

  She took the bottle from her backpack and held it out to the little goat. Willow clamped the teat between her jaws and sucked enthusiastically. She finished the milk in less than a minute and would have carried on sucking at the empty bottle if Jasmine hadn’t slipped her fingers into her mouth and pulled the teat out.

  “Let’s see if she comes when we call her,” said Tom. “If she does, then maybe we could let her out for a bit.”

  He walked to the other side of the pen.

  “Willow!” he called.

  Willow galloped across to him.

  “Good girl, Willow,” he said, stroking her flank.

  “Willow!” called Jasmine. “Come here, Willow!”

  Willow galloped back to Jasmine and rubbed her head against her jeans.

  “Do you want to go out and play with the lambs?” asked Jasmine.

  Tom opened the gate and walked into the field. “Here, Willow!” he called.

  Willow bounded into the sheep field, kicking up her hind legs and taking enthusiastic sideways leaps. A group of sheep was sitting peacefully under a tree at the edge of the paddock. Willow leaped onto the broad woolly back of the nearest ewe. The sheep took absolutely no notice.

  “Do you think they even feel it?” asked Tom as Willow sprang off the ewe’s back onto the back of another sheep.

  “Wow!” exclaimed somebody behind them.

  Tom and Jasmine whipped their heads around. Standing a few yards behind them were Manu and Ben, staring in delight as the ewe trotted away with Willow still standing on her back, balanced like a circus performer.

  Jasmine’s heart sank. She couldn’t believe it. They’d been discovered already!

  She scowled at her brother. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you,” said Manu. “I knew you were doing something secret. You said you were going to clean out Truffle this morning, but you didn’t clean her out, so you must have been going somewhere else with those wheelbarrows. And then you said you were going to take Sky for a walk, but you’d just taken him for a walk. So when Ben came, I told him you were acting suspiciously.”

  “So we decided to spy on you,” said Ben. “It was really easy to find you. We’re very good spies.”

  “How come you’ve got a goat?” asked Manu. “He’s so cool. Where did you get him? Mom and Dad said you couldn’t have any more animals. Is that why you’re keeping him secretly?”

  “It’s a her, not a him,” said Jasmine. “She’s called Willow. We got her at the sheep fair. Her mother died and her owner was going to shoot her. So we bought her.”

  Manu’s eyes widened even more. “That’s why you asked Mom to buy goat’s milk!”

  “Yes,” said Jasmine. “But you can’t tell Mom and Dad. They might make me give her back, and then she’d get shot.”

  Manu thought for a moment. Then he said, “OK. But only if you let me share her.”

  “What do you mean, share her?” asked Jasmine warily.

  “I want to teach her tricks,” said Manu.

  Ben’s face lit up. “We could build her an obstacle course!”

  “Yes!” said Manu. “We can use old tires and planks and stuff.”

  “You can’t,” said Jasmine. “Dad will see it when he comes to check the sheep.”

  “But he’ll see Willow, too,” said Manu.

  “No, we’re keeping her in that pen,” said Jasmine, pointing to it, “and we’ve cleaned out the shed for her. She’ll be in the shed when Dad checks the sheep.”

  Suddenly, Tom laughed. Jasmine looked at him. He pointed across the field. “Look! She’s made a whole gang of friends!”

  Willow was bounding around the edge of the field with Lucky and a few other lambs. As the children watched, they all jumped over a fallen tree branch together, like horses running neck and neck in a race.

  “We definitely need to make her an obstacle course,” said Manu. “We’ll tell Dad it’s for the lambs. That’s not a lie. It is for them, too.”

  “Let’s go and get the stuff for it,” said Ben.

  The boys started running back toward the farmyard.

  “Wait!” called Jasmine. They stopped and turned around.

  “You can’t tell anyone about her,” said Jasmine. “Not even your friends at school, OK? It’s really serious. If Mom and Dad find out and make me send her back, she’ll be killed. Do you understand?”

  The boys nodded solemnly. “We swear,” said Manu.

  They galloped off across the field. Jasmine and Tom watched their retreating backs in silence. Then they looked at each other anxiously.

  “Do you think we can trust them?” asked Tom.

  Jasmine sighed. “I don’t know. I think they’ll try to keep it secret, but they’re only six. If they get excited, they might forget and blurt out everything. Let’s just really hope they don’t.”

  Willow loved her obstacle course. She and the more adventurous lambs played on it for hours that afternoon. When it was time for her to be shut in for the night, she was so exhausted that she was perfectly happy to be picked up and carried into the shed.

  “We should do that bill of sale tonight,” said Tom. “Mr. Evans said it has to be sent off within three days.”

  Jasmine made a face. She would cheerfully do whatever it took to look after her animals, but filling in a scary-looking form was a whole different matter.

  “Let’s have a look at it,” said Tom. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”

  Jasmine took the crumpled form out of her pocket and handed it to him. She sat on the shed floor, stroking the sleepy little goat in her lap, as Tom frowned in silent concentration over the blank boxes and columns.