Junie B. Jones Has a Peep in Her Pocket - Barbara Park [6]
Plus also, I took pictures of my bestest friends named Lucille and that Grace.
“Excellent pictures, friends!” I said real thrilled. “I can’t wait for Mother and Daddy to see them!”
Then I hurried to the big trash can. And I throwed the camera right in there.
“See, Grace? See, Lucille? It is called a throw-away camera. Mother said that after you take the pictures, you just throw it away and buy a new one. And so what can be easier than that?”
“Wow!” said Grace.
“I know it is wow, Grace,” I said. “Plus Mother said the pictures turn out beautifully.”
All of a sudden, Mrs. runned over and she took my camera out of the trash.
“Junie B., honey, you can’t throw the camera away before the pictures are developed,” she said.
“Shoot,” I said. “Nothing is ever easy, is it?”
After that, Mrs. put down blankets in the grass. ’Cause it was time for a picnic, of course!
Me and Lucille and that Grace sat on a blanket and opened our lunch bags.
“Yum,” I said. “Egg salad.”
“Yum,” said that Grace. “Tuna salad.”
“Yum,” said Lucille. “Crab salad on a flaky croissant, with a side order of greens in a light raspberry vinaigrette dressing.”
Then all of us ate our lunches very delicious.
7/Spike
After lunch, it was time to get the children together again.
I clapped my loud hands some more.
“OKAY, PEOPLE. THE FUN IS OVER. GET YOUR BUDDY AND GET IN LINE. ON ACCOUNT OF FARMER FLORES WANTS TO TALK SOME MORE, APPARENTLY.”
Farmer did a teensy frown at me.
Then he holded my hand. And we walked across the yard to another fence.
Inside the fence, there was a building and some chickens.
“Okay, everyone,” said Farmer Flores. “This is the last stop on the tour today.”
He pointed. “Who can tell me what that little building is right there?”
Lucille jumped up and down real happy.
“The gift shop! The gift shop! I’ve been wondering where that was!” she said real delighted.
Farmer Flores did a chuckle. “Well, that’s a good guess. But most farms don’t have gift shops.”
He looked at the class. “I’ll give you a hint,” he said. “My wife and I get eggs for our breakfast every morning from that little house there.”
Just then, a boy named Roger jumped up and down and all around.
“I KNOW, I KNOW!” he shouted. “IT’S A HENHOUSE!”
Farmer Flores smiled. “Right!” he said. “It’s a house where hens lay their eggs.”
Farmer Flores opened the gate.
I tugged on his shirt. He bended down next to me.
“Is there a rooster in there, too?” I asked kind of scared.
“Just one,” he said. “But there’s lots of chickens. Want to go in and say hello?”
I shook my head real fast. Then I runned away from the gate speedy quick.
Paulie Allen Puffer and Jim laughed and pointed.
“Look at Junie B. Jones!” they hollered. “Junie B. Jones is afraid of roosters!”
Farmer Flores made an angry face at those two.
“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 grass 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!