Ellen's Farm Life

Rachel, the Neighbour Girl T he name of the little girl who lived beside the farm was Rachel. She lived in a white cottage with her parents and her older brothers. Rachel had the fresh mind of a farm girl, and it was not very long before she became a close friend to Bear’s family. Every day after school, she would go home, drop her books, change her clothes, and run up to the farm to join Bear’s children. Rachel loved being on the farm with Bear’s children, and by and by, she came to love the animals very much. She especially loved Brownie, and it seemed like Brownie returned her affection. Rachel had no sister, so she took Brownie as one, and you could often see Rachel’s long golden hair glinting in the sunlight as she and Brownie trotted side by side in the warm afternoon. Rachel’s parents never worried about her whereabouts when she was with Bear’s family. They knew that she was safe, and most of all, she enjoyed her time with them. During the summer holidays,

Oh, the joys of spring! It can hardly be described! Everything seems so alive, so full of spirit, so vibrant and full of colour. The plants, trees, and grass quiver in the wind, sway with the breeze, and seem to be rippling with laughter due to their sheer pleasure in coming to life and breathing the fresh air of a spring morning. These were my very thoughts while I was out walking on a bright, sunny afternoon, in the hayfield behind the woods. The air was scented with the fresh breath of pines and ferns, the birds were singing -perhaps serenading one another- and I was mighty glad to see the little buds on the maple and birch trees. There appears to be a restlessness everywhere and in every creature, a longing to get out of closed and stuffy places, a craving to release your spirit and be careless and free, a wish to soar on the winds and sing at the top of your lungs. Even the usually placid farm animals are touched with symptoms of spring fever. The sheep, not the