Sammi and Dusty

by Jessie Williams

  Everyone piled through the big old wooden door. Kerry took him into her office to show him the stack of files, recording all the children who had been helped by the Harvest Hope project. Then Asha dug out all the colourful pictures that had been sent in by schools.

  They headed outside again with Mr Collins full of enthusiasm. ‘I’ve just had a thought,’ he said. ‘A colleague’s daughter has just had a big operation. It’ll take her a long time to fully recover, but I can imagine that the Harvest Hope project would do her the world of good. Would you consider her, do you think?’

  ‘Of course we would,’ said Kerry. ‘Rehabilitation work is one of the things we do best. Just send me her details and we can start the process. Now, which part of the farm would you like to visit first? The garden, perhaps?’

  ‘Sounds wonderful,’ agreed Mr Collins.

  Out in the front yard, the council workers were still standing around, wondering what to do. Derrick Jarvis was standing with them, his face furious. The worker holding the CLOSED sign stepped forward.

  ‘What should we do with this, Mr Collins?’ he asked.

  ‘Well, we won’t be needing it here,’ said Mr Collins. ‘Give it to Mr Jarvis. I’m sure he’ll find a use for it somewhere else.’

  The worker handed the sign over. Sammi watched as Mr Jarvis turned on his heel and marched off towards his car. But then, instead of putting the sign in his boot, he held it out in front of him for a second. He shook his head in disgust, and broke the sign over his knee. It split neatly into two pieces!

  * * *

  Grinning to himself, Sammi skipped after the others as they wandered down through the flower beds in the garden. Mr Collins was very impressed with all the vegetables, and particularly loved the pond with all the ducks and geese waddling around it. The swans sat safely on the other side of the water, looking very beautiful and elegant.

  ‘Reminds me of my childhood!’ he exclaimed happily. ‘I dare say you get plenty of tadpoles in the spring, don’t you?’

  ‘Aye,’ Rory told him. ‘There’s frogs and toads – the clumps of frogspawn and the strings of toadspawn. I always love pointing out the difference to littl’uns.’

  Sammi gave Asha a nudge. ‘What’s frog and toad?’ he asked.

  Asha immediately went down on all fours and did an impression, croaking and hopping along beside the pond. Everyone burst out laughing.

  ‘Asha, what on earth are you doing?’ asked Kerry.

  ‘I’m explaining to Sammi,’ said Asha. ‘He wasn’t sure what we were talking about!’

  ‘Is OK,’ giggled Sammi. ‘I understand now.’ There was no mistaking what Asha was imitating!

  They walked way round past the chicken coops, with their cosy nest boxes. Jack suggested that Mr Collins have a look for an egg, and sure enough, he found a lovely fresh brown one with speckles at one end.

  ‘We’d better take that up to the barn,’ said Kerry. ‘Or perhaps you’d like to take it with you?’

  ‘I’d love to take it,’ said Mr Collins. ‘I’ll show it to my daughter. She’ll be thrilled to think her old dad collected it himself. In fact, I think I’ll bring her here for a visit!’

  ‘She’d be more than welcome,’ smiled Kerry, as they walked back up to the yard.

  Just as they arrived, Bea emerged from the cafe holding a big tray of cakes. Sammi’s mum and their neighbour went up to give her some help, and began to hand them out on paper plates to anyone who wanted one.

  ‘Oh, Bea! How fantastic! I thought we’d eaten all the cakes yesterday!’ exclaimed Kerry.

  ‘No, there was one tray left,’ said Bea. ‘And I’ve chopped them all in half so that more people can have a taste!’

  Sammi’s mum came back, pointing to the tray and then to the people who were gathering around hopefully.

  ‘You want to hand out more cakes?’ Bea asked her.

  ‘More cakes,’ repeated Sammi’s mum, copying the words carefully. Then she laughed, and winked at Sammi. ‘I learn quick!’ she said.

  Sammi laughed, and watched her waltz off with two more plates in her hands.

  Giti ran up to Sammi and took his hand. ‘Show me your friend,’ she said to him in English. ‘Your donkey friend.’

  Just then, Sammi heard a distant sound from the behind the barn.

  ‘Eeee-yore! Eeee-yore!’ called Dusty.

  How could he forget? ‘Of course! I haven’t told him the good news yet!’ said Sammi. He pulled Giti towards the paddocks, and they broke into a run. ‘Come on, Giti. Let’s go and tell him right now!’

  Epilogue

  Sammi led Dusty into his stall and tied him up, then undid his saddle. He lifted it off and carried it up to the storeroom, whistling a tune.

  ‘You sound cheerful!’ commented Rory. He was up a ladder, repairing one of the old windows. Since City Farm had been given a new lease of life, Rory hadn’t stopped sprucing it up – he’d painted fences and built new hutches and even started work on a whole new stall.

  ‘I am always cheerful these days!’ laughed Sammi.

  He laid the saddle carefully on its rack, then returned to Dusty’s stall and gave him a good brush down. ‘You work hard today, Dusty.’ he commented. ‘I bet you looking forward to a good roll in the grass.’

  Dusty had given about fifteen donkey rides to younger children over the morning and lunch time, trotting up and down the main yard. Sammi had led him the whole time, and Dusty hadn’t started braying once! He fed him a nice juicy carrot as a reward, then untied him and led him back out to the paddock. Dusty’s ears were pricked as he walked through the gate, and Stanley whinnied a greeting.

  ‘Now you go and enjoy yourself!’ said Sammi. He slipped off Dusty’s head collar and gave his neck a final pat.

  Dusty butted Sammi’s arm affectionately, then trotted off, braying noisily. Stanley stood still for a moment, then turned around and cantered wildly to the far end of the paddock with his tail held high. Dusty charged after him, and the two of them kicked their heels, just for the fun of it!

  Sammi grinned, then jogged back to the barn. He’d better hurry up or he’d be late. He collected his kit bag and his football. It was Saturday afternoon, and all the boys would be waiting for him down the park.

  He was just about to dash off to catch the bus when he remembered who was visiting City Farm today. He went to the cafe and popped his head around the door.

  ‘Hi, Mum! Hi, Giti!’ he called.

  ‘Hello! Go play football! You late!’ laughed his mum. She was sitting with Bea, Giti and their neighbour, eating cake. ‘What you still do here?’

  ‘You want chocolate cake? It’s very nice. Yummy,’ said Giti, who had it smeared all around her mouth.

  ‘It’s OK, Giti,’ Sammi told her. ‘I don’t want to eat cake before football – I like more to have it afterwards.’

  ‘I’ll save you some,’ promised Giti.

  ‘Don’t believe a word,’ said Bea. ‘She’ll eat it all herself!’

  As the big old door closed behind him, Sammi remembered how he’d felt when he first saw the farm and the rickety barn. So much had changed since then. The Harvest Hope project had shown him that his new life wasn’t so bad, after all. He had a whole new home, and City Farm was definitely part of it! Sammi gave them a final wave.

  ‘Good luck! Come home safe!’ called his mum, slipping back into Pashtun.

  ‘Say it in English!’ replied Sammi, over his shoulder.

  ‘No problem,’ said his mum. ‘See you later, alligator!’

  Sammi laughed. ‘In a while, crocodile!’

  Character Profile

  ANIMAL: Donkey

  ANIMAL NAME: Dusty

  LIKES:

  Making lots of noise and being with his friends.

  DISLIKES:

  Being quiet.

  FAVOURITE PLACE:
<
br />   A shady spot in the field.

  FAVOURITE FOOD:

  Carrots.

  City Farm Handbook

  City Farm Rules

  Lots of people visit City Farm everyday. Follow these simple rules to make sure that everyone enjoys themselves.

  Treat people – and animals – with respect and kindness.

  Help out and join in! If you can see someone needs a hand, offer to help them.

  Don’t feed the animals, some of them are on special diets, and different food will upset their tummies.

  Wash your hands! Most of the City Farm animals like to be held and stroked, but you should always wash your hands afterwards.

  Have fun!

  Our Guinea Pigs

  Bubble and Squeak are our guinea pigs. They’re very friendly and love being held and petted every day.

  Guinea pigs originally come from South America and usually live until they are five or six years old.

  Guinea pigs are very social creatures and Bubble and Squeak would get very lonely if they didn’t have each other. They like having lots of hay and straw to burrow in, and toilet-roll tubes to use as tunnels.

  Guinea pigs are active up to 20 hours per day and sleep only for short periods.

  Guinea pigs make lots of different noises which mean different things. When they’re excited they make lots of squeaking ‘wheek’ sounds and they purr when they’re being stroked.

  Our Equines

  City Farm is lucky enough to have a pony called Stanley an ex-racehorse called Swift and a donkey called Dusty. Horses and donkeys take a lot of looking after.

  Our horses and donkeys need to be mucked out every morning, and given a pile of fresh straw for their beds.

  They have small feeds at breakfast and lunchtime each have a net full of hay in the evening. During the day they are ‘turned out’ into the field for at least six hours so that they can graze on the grass.

  We always check that there are no holes in the fencing, or no broken glass or poisonous plants before they are turned out into the paddock.

  In the winter, Dusty, Stanley and Swift have stable rugs on their backs so they don’t get cold.

  Our Pig

  Cynthia is City Farm’s Tamworth pig. She loves playing football!

  Pigs are actually very clean. When Cynthia rolls in the mud it’s because she’s hot. Pigs can’t sweat, so they cover themselves in cool mud, which cools them down and protects their skin from the sun.

  Pigs are also very smart, and they learn tricks faster than dogs. They like to have toys like a football to keep them entertained.

  Tamworth pigs are a gingery-orange colour, and they originally come from the UK.

  Pigs have such a good sense of smell that they can find things buried underground.

  It is actually illegal to give pigs scraps from the kitchen.

  Our Goats

  City Farm has five goats – dairy goats Nelly and Nancy, male goats Billy and Bramble, and a new goat, naughty little Basher.

  Dairy goats need milking every day. More people in the world drink goats’ milk than cows’ milk. Goat’s milk makes delicious cheeses.

  Goats can live between 12-16 years.

  Goats only have teeth on their bottom jaw, the top is a hard palate.

  Goats are often very good at escaping their pens – like Basher, so we have to make sure their enclosures are secure.

  Baby goats are called kids, and goats can have up to six kids per litter.

  Our Chickens and Ducks

  There are lots of chickens and ducks at City Farm, and more ducklings and chicks hatch every year.

  Chickens and ducks need a shed to sleep at night,otherwise they might get eaten by foxes.

  Very few ducks actually “quack”, but ducks do make a wide range of noises.

  Ducks have webbed feet that act like paddles, and their feathers are waterproof.

  Chickens preen their feathers every day, and like to take dust baths in the farmyard.

  Our Sheep

  Curly and Lizzie are City Farm’s Greyface Dartmoor Sheep. They have floppy fringes that fall over their eyes and are very woolly and cuddly!

  Female sheep are called ewes, male sheep are called rams, and baby sheep are called lambs.

  Sheep like to live together in a flock. If one moves, the others will follow. When people copy what each other do without thinking, it’s called being a sheep.

  Sheep have to be shorn every year, and their wool is spun into thread that makes clothes, blankets, and lots of other things.

  Sheep were some of the first animals to be domesticated by people.

  Other titles from the City Farm series – Emily and Patch

  Ever since Emily Keane’s mum died, things have gone horribly wrong. She hates her new school, and her dad and step-mum are always too busy with her new baby brother to have any time for her.

  When her Easter assembly ends in disaster, Emily thinks she’s in big trouble. But instead she’s referred to the Harvest Hope project. Spending the Easter holiday working on a farm with a bunch of smelly animals is the last thing Emily wants to do, until she meets chatterbox volunteer Asha, Cynthia the footballing pig, and a very special dog called Patch...

  Can City Farm make Emily realise that families come in all shapes and sizes?

  Zoe and Swift

  Zoe Clarke has always loved running. She’s the fastest runner in her school and she dreams about competing in the Olympics when she grows up. But after she breaks her leg badly in an accident, she suddenly has to give up all her Olympic hopes.

  It’s hard to be sad for long on City Farm though, especially with a retired race-horse to help settle in. Swift can’t race any more either, and he’s getting bored with nothing to do.

  Can Swift and Zoe both find some new dreams?

  Darren and Basher

  Darren Taylor has been excluded from school for vandalism. It wasn’t vandalism really, it was art. But he probably shouldn’t have done it on school property.

  When he’s sent to the Harvest Hope project, the farm is buzzing with excitement. They have been asked to put on a Rare Breed Show, with lots of interesting animals coming to stay at the farm, including a naughty little goat called Basher, who won’t stay in his pen.

  With Basher’s help, can Darren show his new friends he’s not as bad as everyone thinks?

  Katie and the Ducklings

  When Katie’s mum loses her job she’s so sad that starts staying in bed all day. She doesn’t even get up in time to take Katie to school. Soon Katie’s missed so much time that she’s given a placement at the Harvest Hope project.

  Katie loves City Farm, especially when she and Asha find a family of nest of orphaned eggs, and Katie becomes mum to a cute group of little ducklings!

  Can Katie look after the ducklings, and will City Farm be able to help her and her mum?

  Laura and Silky

  Ten-year-old Laura can’t see, but that doesn’t mean that she can’t do anything, and Asha, Kerry, Rory and everyone at City Farm are determined to prove that to her.

  But being blind on a farmyard is more difficult than anyone expects, and after an accident with the animal feed, Laura’s confidence is lower than ever... until Silky the farm cat makes Laura her special friend.

  Will Laura take more home from City Farm than she’d ever imagined?

  City Farm

  Our City Farm and the Harvest Hope project are fictional, but there are real city farms all around the country and they often need volunteers. Why not go and visit the one nearest to you?

  Curious Fox

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  www.curious-fox.com