Keiko’s Pony Rescue

Early Birds and a Night Owl

The next morning, Aunt Yumi wakes the girls up by knocking gently on the girls’ door. Keiko opens her eyes and slides out of bed, peeking at the window. The sun is just starting to rise, and the sky is streaked with red and orange. She’ll have to remember to add those colors to her drawing later.

Sofia groans and she sits up, and Madison groggily states she’s changed her mind about farm life. Aunt Yumi responds that it’s hard at first, but that they’ll all get used to it. In fact, maybe the girls want to feed some baby calves. Jasmine gasps. There’s baby cows!

The four girls are up and dressed in a flash. Before they know it, they’re following Aunt Yumi out to the barn, where the girls see two tiny calves waiting inside. They have white coats spotted with large black swirls that match their ears. Every few seconds, the calves swipe their tongues across their mouths.

The calf on the right is named Rosebud, and next to her is Lily. They get bottle-fed each day. Madison asks why they’re not drinking straight from their mom. Aunt Yumi explains they were at the beginning, but now they’re bottle-fed to ensure there’s enough milk to make butter to sell at the farmers markets. Otherwise, the calves would drink it all! Maybe the girls even want to help milk their moms.

Aunt Yumi waves the girls over to an enclosure at the end of the barn with two larger cows. They have the same teacup handle-shaped ears and cookies-and-cream coats. Their names are Buttercup and Lulu. Aunt Yumi places a large bucket under each cow and sits on a stool next to Buttercup. She explains that sometimes they use a machine to milk the cows, but they can do it by hand today.

Aunt Yumi strokes the cow’s udder, gently squeezing two of the long teats underneath until milk spurts into the bucket in rhythmic streams. Keiko sits down to try for herself. She wraps her hand around a teat, but nothing happens. She angles it toward herself to see if something is wrong and squeezes. Squirt! A stream of milk splashes her cheek, and her friends laugh hysterically.

Keiko wipes off her cheek and tries again, aiming for the bucket. Milking cows isn’t as easy as her aunt made it look, but eventually Keiko gets the hang of it. Each of the girls takes a turn, and soon they have two big buckets full of fresh milk. Aunt Yumi nodes approvingly.

Aunt Yumi pours the milk into bottles and screws on rubber nipple tops. Keiko holds the bottle cautiously above Rosebud’s head, tilting it down toward the calf’s milk. Rosebud latches onto the nipple, and pulls it with soft, suckling sounds. Keiko gasps in delight. She hands the bottle to Jasmine so she can take a turn. Madison and Sofia take turns feeding Lily.

Keiko smiles at her friends. She’s been having so much fun with farm life she’d almost forgotten about the art contest.

After feeding the calves, the girls clean themselves up and head to breakfast. Aunt Yumi and Uncle Henry serve the girls plates of fresh scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit. Then, Grace knocks on the door, looking worried. She explains that her mother is ill, so Paul and her need to fly to Florida tomorrow. But Marigold can’t be left unattended. She’s wondering if Aunt Yumi and Uncle Henry would be willing to look after her while she’s gone. The farmhands can take care of most things, but Marigold needs special attention.

Aunt Yumi immediately responds that they’ll make sure Marigold is safe and sound. Keiko volunteers for her and her friends to help out, too. Grace says all of that would be wonderful. It makes her feel better knowing that Marigold is in good hands.

That night, her friends go to sleep early, exhausted by their long, exciting first day on the farm. But Keiko stays up late to work on her barn sketch. As she finishes the last few pencil strokes, she realizes she hadn’t checked her email since she arrived. She pulls out her phone to see what she had been waiting for: an email from the museum.

Keiko nervously clicks on the email, and she holds her breath as she reads:

Keiko’s heart sinks. She can’t fight her disappointment. She looks around at her sleeping friends. They all expected her to win. Keiko lays down on the bed, her face hot with tears. What will her friends say when they find out her artwork won’t be in the museum at all?