EDGAR, THE RUN AWAY GOAT Grandpa's ranch is my favorite place in the whole world. At the ranch, there are cows, goats, horses and a little stream that runs through the trees. I like to go there every chance I get to help my Grandpa with the animals. Last summer, my Grandpa said that when I turned eight, he would ask me to help him around the ranch by tending to the animals by myself. He teases me by telling me that I'm pretty strong, for a girl. I was nervous the first time I had to feed the cows by myself. And I was nervous for a good reason because that was the day that everything went wrong.
Early one summer morning Grandpa said, "Okay, Mallory. Today you're going to show me that you are grown up enough to take care of things by yourself." I had been waiting for him to say this for such a long time.
English: The CD cover for A Song for Grandma and G...
English: Tatar dolls: Grandma and Grandpa Tatarça...
Edgar Renteria BattingI knew exactly what to do from watching Grandpa. The only thing that I had to keep an eye on was Edgar, the goat. Edgar was Martinez, page 2 Assignment 1 # HH44071 always chasing me and trying to run out as soon as the gate was opened. He would charge at me with his head bowed down low. He would scare me so much I had to climb up a tree to get away from him. But today, I was determined to have everything under control.
I skipped out to the stables whistling "Old McDonald Had a Farm". I snatched up the feed bucket and took it over to where the goats were. I glanced around and didn't see Edgar anywhere so I opened the gate. As I lifted the latch, it squeaked loudly from the rust. Edgar suddenly came stampeding towards me. I couldn't move. It seemed like my feet were glued to the ground. "Grandpa," I screamed, "Help me!" But Grandpa couldn't hear me. I jumped up onto the rungs of the gate just as Edgar passed me by. "Whew," I sighed. Edgar had missed hitting me with his horns but now he was on the loose and I was sure that Grandpa would be angry.
All of a sudden my feet were free from the ground's invisible hold on them. I dropped the bucket and ran towards the house wishing with every pounding step that Edgar would be easy to catch. I didn't exactly know where to start looking for Edgar. He could be anywhere by now! Maybe he was already miles and miles down the road. I was convinced that we'd never find Edgar. I looked in the barn. I searched in the open meadow next to Grandpa's ranch. "Edgar," I called, "Where are you?" There was no sign of Edgar anywhere.
Slowly, I made my way back towards the house. There was nothing else to do but to tell Grandpa what had happened. If we looked for Edgar in his truck, I'm sure we could find him faster. As I walked up the front steps of the porch, I could hear Grandma and Grandpa laughing. I was going to ruin their good time telling them how I had Martinez, page 3 Assignment 1 # HH44071 messed up. I walked towards the laughing which was coming from the side porch. When I rounded the corner of the house, I could see just what was so funny. There was Edgar, with his rear end sticking out of the doggie door. He was neighing and stomping about rowdily because he was stuck. I couldn't help but to laugh myself.
Grandpa wasn't mad at me. He understood how hard it could be to manage Edgar. He still let me feed the animals by myself, but from then on, Grandpa went with me, just in case I needed some help. I guess I learned that there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Asking for help doesn't mean that you can't handle something. It just means you need a little extra push so that you can eventually control the situation by yourself. After all, even Grandpa's ask for help sometimes.
Edgar Wright
Edgar Neo @ the openBC Rotterdam event
Edgar Tower