Little Joe by Sandra Neil Wallace Read Free Book Online Page B

certain nobody’ll hurt them.”

Chapter Six
Sorry

    Eli brought two halters into the barn, some apples and a brush. He didn’t know what to expect. He’d gone back this morning like Pa’d told him to, but Little Joe seemed tinier than Eli’d remembered. He still fit under Fancy and was bunched up like a blanket between her legs. So mostly, Eli just stared at the two standing close together and let them be.
    When Eli got home from school, Little Joe was curled up in the straw, his legs all folded together as he slept. When he heard Eli, Little Joe shook his ears and yawned. He lunged forward to get to his knees, uncurling his back legs first, then the front, till he was standing.
    “It’s gonna be different today, boy,” Eli whispered.Little Joe eyed the two rope halters laced through Eli’s arms. Eli brought them over to let him sniff, but the calf skittered behind Fancy.
    “Sorry ’bout the last time.” Eli slid one halter carefully across his bandaged hand. “It was all my fault. I tried to hurry you.” Eli walked with the halter over to Fancy. She closed her eyes and stuck out her neck as Eli put it around her head. Then he tied the end to the rail under the window. “See?” Eli peeked around Fancy to get a look at Little Joe. “It’s nothing to get bothered about. Really.”
    Eli pulled out a currycomb from his back pocket, reached up and started brushing Fancy all over. She stood still, taking in the feeling, her switch raising a bit as Eli got near the back. Then Eli started to hum. “Every cow likes to be brushed,” he said. “But they got to be tied up first.”
    Eli felt a warm breath on his brushing hand. Then a wet mouth. “Wanna sniff?” he asked. Little Joe had come over. Eli showed him the brush. Little Joe breathed in the bristles, then play-nibbled at the handle.
    “From now on, no more secrets,” Eli promised. “Or being sneaky. You’ll see what you’re getting into.”
    Little Joe took a step closer, eyed the halter on Eli’s arm and sniffed it. Then he went over and sniffed Fancy’s.
    “It’s the same thing, boy.” Eli showed Little Joe his halter. “Should we give it another try?” Eli slid the halterslowly over Little Joe’s head. This time, Little Joe didn’t fight when Eli tied him to the rail next to Fancy.
    Spider leapt onto the windowsill, her paws stained flaxen from months of barn prowling. She shook the furry necklace of stripes on her chest and looked down at Little Joe.
    “Keeping an eye on your calf, huh, Spider?” Eli pulled out another comb from his pocket, then started brushing Little Joe, too. His bandaged hand stung at first as he stood between the two cows, brushing. He’d stroke one, then the other, like he was swimming the front crawl lopsided; Little Joe chest-high to him, Fancy taller than Eli. “Wanna know something?” Eli asked them.
    Little Joe’s ears pricked up. He let himself be swayed by the movement as Eli brushed his neck. “You get brushed a lot at the fair,” Eli said. “I’ll brush you at least ten times a day. And you’ll get the blower on you, too.”
    Fancy turned around and glanced at Eli.
    “I can try it on you, too, Fancy. First time you get a bath this spring.” Eli was down near both rumps now, about ready to brush their tails. “Pa says Ned Kinderhoff grows pumpkins two rumps wide. He don’t know how, but he’d like to find out. They’re so heavy the judge at the fair’s got to use a forklift to weigh them.”
    Spider’s back arched and she extended her black claws as a draft came through the window, blowing in thelast bits of winter. Little Joe peered under Spider’s legs and out the window. “Keller says there’s a Ferris wheel right near the show barn. If we get a row on that side, you can see it. Or if you want a quiet one, Pa says we just get there early and park a chair where we want to be.”
    Little Joe’s eyes began to close as Eli got to the switch.
    “And when you win the blue ribbon, they