Farms Are Fun

7/28/2019 Farms Are Fun

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Farms are fun

European Commission

Agriculture andRural Development


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Moreinormationonthe European Unionis availableonthe Internet (http://europa.eu).

Cataloguingdata can be oundattheendothis publication.Luxembourg: Publications Ofceothe European Union, 2010

ISBN 978-92-79-13637-5doi:10.2762/11339

European Union, 2010Reproductionis authorisedprovidedthe sourceis acknowledged

Illustrations : Vronique Hariga - www.hariga.be

Printed in BelgiumPRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER


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Farms are fun


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Nicholas sits inthetrain watchingthe ields andtrees pass by. Itis early springand, through thebaretrees, he can sometimes seetheriverinthevalley. Nicholas and his parents areontheir waytovisit his auntanduncleand his cousin Emmaontheir arm. Its the irsttime since he was small.Hedoesntremembermuch rom his lastvisit.

But hedoes recognise Emmaand his auntanduncle whomeetthematthevillagerailway station.

Thetwo amilies greeteach other. Itsgreatto see youagain. Were soglad you couldall come,say thegrown-ups. Nicholas and Emma lookateach other shyly.

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The shyness doesnt last. By thetimethey arriveatthe armhouse, they aretalkingabouttoys,schools, riends andpets. I dont haveapet, says Emma, gettingoutothe car. We haveadog,Floss, but sheisntapet. Sheis a workingdog. She helps lookaterthe sheep. Ionegets lost, sheinds itand brings it back. And, anyway, thereare lots oanimals onthe arm.

Floss, who had been sittinginthe armyard, comes orward ora closer look. She snis thenewcomers, then wags hertail. Sheeven lets Nicholas pat her.

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I am sure youre hungry ater your journey, Aunt Molly says to Nicholas. Eatanapplenow. Wellhaveeggs, milk, cheeseand bread shortly. All the ood comes romthe arm.

As they eat, Nicholas hears the windoutsidegetting stronger. Itis now dark. Thereis goingto be

a stormtonight, says Uncle Frank, andmaybeeven snow. Thereare some sheep still waitingtohavetheir lambs. Ithe lambs are borntonight, they may need help.

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An hour later, the wind has becomeagale. Uncle FrankandNicholas' dadputon big boots andheavy coats. They setotovisitthe sheep with atractorandtrailer.

Nicholas and Emmaareallowedto stay upuntil their athers come back. They seethetractor

lights as it stops outsidethe barn. They puton coats and scarves andrunacross. By this time, thetwomen haveputamother sheepandtwotiny lambs intoapen with lots odry straw.

Floss oundthe sheepandthetwin lambs inthe corneroa ield, Uncle Franktoldthe children.The lambs were so small andweak, they would havediedi she hadnot seenthem. They canrestinthe warm, dry barnuntil they are strongenough togo backtothe ield.

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Thenextmorningis brightand sunny. The storm has passed.

Nicholas goes outside. He sees hens inthenearby ield. Emmaandhermotherare carryingapail ograinto eedthem. Our hens liveoutside, says Emma. Wedont keepthemina barn. They are happyto beintheopen. Ours only goinsideatnightorto lay theireggs.

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Uncle Frankis inthevegetable ield. Heis plantingrows o carrots, beans, lettuce, cucumbers,caulilower, celery,peppers, spinach, radishes, leeks andonions. Can we help? the childrenask.Soonthey are busy. Uncle Frankmakes holes inthe sotdarkearth. Emmapops a seedintoeachholeand Nicholas ills the holes with resh earth andpresses itdown.

I you come backon yournext school holidays, youll beabletoeatmany othethings you

plantedtoday, Uncle Franktells Nicholas. I would likethatvery much, says Nicholas. I will askmy mumanddad when we can come back.

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Nextday is a busy one or Nicholas and Emma. Itis theday Nicholas and his parents returntotheir

homeinthe city. But irstthereis much todo.They getupearly to help bringinthe cows romthe ieldto bemilked. Themilkis collected by atruck which takes ittothedairy. Atthedairy, saysUncle Frank, Themilkis putin bottles and cartonsand sentto shops and supermarkets, orpeopleto buy. Somemilkis deliveredto schools orthe

childrentodrink, he says. AndAunt Molly keepssometomakeice-cream, cheeseand yoghurt.

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Thenthe childrengotothe barn. The lambs have edontheirmothersmilkand look stronger.

EmmaandNicholas strokethem. Itis time orthemandtheirmothertogo backtothe ield withtheother sheep, says Uncle Frank.

Can I come? asks Nicholas. Youdont havetime, says his ather. Weneedtogotothe stationorthetrain.

Tell you what, says Uncle Frank. I will takeaphotoo Emmaputtingthe lambs backintheir ieldand senditto youontheinternet. It will be waiting or you when youget home. Although we liveinthe country, wenow haveinternettoo, just like amilies who liveinthetown.

Andwe haveinternetand computers atour school, says Emma, with lots o learninggames.

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Itis summer. The school holidays havearrived. Nicholas is excited. Itis timetovisit Emmaand herparents again. Whenthey getothetrain, they come ace-to-ace with the armers market. Uncle Franktells Nicholas aboutit. Although we supply shops andrestaurants intowns, wealso sell things inour

ownmarket. Lots opeople cometo buy.

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Themarketis amix o colours, smells andnoise. Thereareall kinds ovegetables: red, yellow, brown,black, green, pinkand white. How many othemdo you know thenames o? asks Uncle Frank.

Eggs arepiledupin littlepyramids. Cheeses sitalongside yoghurt, butterand cream. Sunloweroil and

oliveoil are being soldin bottles and jugs. Sweet-smelling lavenderandother herbs hang romthestall covers. Some armers who keep bees are sellingpots o honey.

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Atthe arm, Emma shows Nicholas thevegetables he helpedplanton his lastvisit.Theplants are ull oripevegetables. Thecaulilowers comenearly to Nicholas' waist.Weeata lotovegetables, Emma says.

Everybody should. They aregood or you.Emmaplucks twotomatoes or Nicholas. Theyare biggerthantennis balls. Mmm, they areso sweet, cries Nicholas.

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Their wool is usedtomake clothes and carpets, says Uncle Frank. The sheepare

bald withouttheir wool They are cooler likethatand less bothered by insects. Anditgrows backintimeto keepthem warmin winter.

The childrenvisitthe sheep. EmmatellsNicholas thatall the lambs were soldtoanother armer. They see Floss, hard

at work. Sheis bringingthe sheeponeby onetothegate. Therethey arehavingall their wool cuto.

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Backatthe arm, dark-blue swallows dartinandoutothe barn. They makenests inside with mud romtheriver bank. The swallows are catchinginsects to

eedtotheir young, Nicholas' athertells him.

Ontherooothe barnis anothernest amuch biggerone. Itis a bundleobranches andtwigs and belongs toa amily o storks. They say thati storksneston yourroo, it brings you luck, says Emma.

You see, says Nicholas' ather, the countrysideis shared by everyone. Farmersandtheir amilies tendtheanimals andgrow our ood. Buttherearealsothe

birds who live here likethe swallows and storks. Thenpeople likeus romthetownvisitthe countryside or holidays, or walks orpicnics.

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Thenextmorning, Uncle Frank sets oearly on his combineharvester with some arm workers ontractors andtrailers. Its themostimportanttimeothe yearwhenthemain crops are harvested.

They will be workingevery day until aterdarktogatherinall thegrain romthe ields.


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Itrains a little, justa short summer shower. Whenit stops, arainbow withmany colours makes anarch across the sky. My riends at school toldmethatthereis apotogoldattheendoarainbow, says Nicholas. Butitshardtoreach.

Lets try to indit, says Emma. We cangoon bikes. She etches twobikes romthegarageandthey setointhedirectionotherainbow. Flossruns along besidethem. She barks with un. What shall wedo with thegoldi we indit? asks Nicholas.

They cycle or sometime. Buttherainbow seems toget urtheraway,notnearer. They cometothe ield whereUncle Frankandthemenare busy.

Whereare yougoing? heasks. Wearetryingtoreach theendotherainbow togetthepotogold, Nicholas tells him.

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Uncle Frank smiles a bigsmile. Rainbows aremade by

the sun shiningontheraindrops.They disappear when youget closeto

them, says Uncle Frank.Ithereis norainbow when yougetthere, there

is nogoldeither.

But lookat yourrainbow overthere. It seems toendinthemiddleothat ieldogoldenwheat. Thatis yourgoldatrainbows end, Uncle Frank says with a laugh.

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He leans outo his combineandexplains. Although wheatis notprecious likegold, itis stillvaluable, he says.

Wemake bread with it, says Nicholas. Andpastatoo, cries Emma.

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The holiday is over. Itis timetogo. Nicholas carries a box o ruitandvegetables totake home. Hecant see where heis going.

Dont walkthere, cries Emma. Itis too late. Nicholas has steppedonanegg laid by a hennearthe car. He slips and sits onittoo.

The hens are supposedto lay theireggs inside. But sometimes they orget, says Emma.

Everybody laughs. Nicholas gets cleantrousers andothey all gotothe station. Nicholas asksEmmato send himall thenews romthe armater he has gone backtothetown.

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A ew weeks later, Nicholas gets anemail message rom Emmaand herparents with somephotos. She has lots onews.

Dad has harvestedall our crops. He has ploughed someoour ields ready to sow the seeds ornext year. Now heis busy with the jobs he cantdoatothertimes. Today heis mendinga stonewall which has allendown. Tomorrow heis goingto cleanaditch besidetheroad.

When winter comes, he will eedouranimals andmakeplans ornext year. He says he will turnoneotheold arm buildings intoa brand-new holiday home. You can bethe irstto stay initwhenits ready next summer.

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European Commission

Luxembourg: Publications Ofceothe European Union

2010 22 pp. 21 cm x 21 cm

ISBN 978-92-79-13637-5doi:10.2762/11339

Thetextothis publicationis orinormationpurposes only andis not legally binding.

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ISBN 978-92-79-13637-5doi:10.2762/11339

European Commission

Directorate-General

for Agriculture andRural Development

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/

F-30-09-193-EN-C

Nicholas sits inthetrain watchingthe ieldsandtrees pass by. Itis early springand,through the baretrees, he can sometimes seetheriverinthevalley. Nicholas and his parentsareontheir way tovisit his auntanduncleand his cousin Emmaontheir arm...

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Farms Are Fun