Funny Farm

«I have got a lot of milk. The farmer’s wife milks me every day.»

She gives Chloe a plate with milk.

«Here you are!»

Chloe drinks it. She really likes it.

«Oh, it is so tasty!»

«You are not a cow,» I say. «Cows don’t drink milk, they give it to people.»

Chloe is sad. She likes cows and she wants to be a cow.

I don’t like that Chloe is sad and I say, «You are fluffy. So maybe you are a rabbit?»

We go to the rabbit’s house. Fluffy rabbits are playing in the grass.

«Hi, rabbits!» I say.

«Hello, Tim!» say the rabbits.

«Am I a rabbit?» asks Chloe.

The rabbits look at her with interest.

«You don’t look like a rabbit,» they say. «Our ears are long and your ears are short.»

«Oh, I am not a rabbit…»

Chloe is sad again.

«You are so small and so fluffy like a chicken,» says one of the rabbits.

«Chloe!» I say. «Let’s go to Mrs Ginger. She is a hen. She has got a lot of children. Maybe you are one of them?»

We go to the chicken’s house. Small chickens are running in the yard. Mrs Ginger is a brown hen. She is sitting on the nest.

«Hello, Mrs Ginger!» we say.

«Hi, children!» says Mrs Ginger.

«This is Chloe,» I say. «Is Chloe a chicken?»

Mrs Ginger looks at Chloe.

«You don’t look like a chicken. My chickens are yellow and you are red,» she says. «And do you like worms?»

«Worms?» asks Chloe.

«All chickens like worms very much,» explains Mrs Ginger.

Chloe smells a worm.

«I don’t like worms. I like milk,» she says sadly. «Oh, who am I?»

«Don’t be so sad,» I say. «You are red and I know who is red. It’s a squirrel!»

We run to the big tree in our garden. A deep hole is in the tree. Mrs Squirrel is sitting on the branch.

«Hello, Mrs Squirrel! Tell me please,» asks Chloe. «Am I a squirrel?»

Mrs Squirrel climbs down the tree.

«You don’t look like a squirrel,» she answers. «But can you climb trees?»

«Oh, I think I can,» says Chloe.

She climbs up and down the tree perfectly.

«Take this beautiful nut,» says Mrs Squirrel. «All squirrels like nuts very much.»

Chloe takes the nut. She smells the nut. But she doesn’t like it because she is not a squirrel. Chloe is very sad again. She doesn’t know who she is.

And I don’t know how to help her.

«You are small but you are not a chicken. You are fluffy but you are not a rabbit. You can climb trees but you are not a squirrel. And you like milk.»

«You are silly,» says someone.

Suddenly we see a thin black cat with a long tail. She is sitting on the green fence. Her name is Scratchy and she guards our farm from mice.

«Chloe is not a squirrel,» says Scratchy. «She is a little kitten.»

«Are you sure?» we ask.

«Of course, I am sure. I know everything. I am very clever. Chloe is a little red kitten. That’s why she likes milk and can climb the trees. Because all cats like milk and, of course, all cats can climb the trees perfectly.»

«Oh, thank you, Mrs Scratchy!» we say. We are very happy. Now Chloe knows who she is. She is a kitten!

Exercises

1. Circle the odd word out

a) chicken, cow, puppy, kitten

b) climb, run, sit, bush

c) tree, bush, squirrel, grass