Free DuckStar / Cyberfarm by Hazel Edwards Page A

giggled. He definitely liked Cate.
    Then he looked back. Ashy footprints marked his trail.
    â€˜Don’t worry, Duck, I’ll clean it up in the morning,’ Cate said as she stirred the pot on the stove. It smelt delicious.
    Duck felt at home.

Chapter 2
    Night Noises

    After dinner Duck tackled the rocker again. If he didn’t move too fast, it was okay. He settled down to dream about being a TV star.
Clunk. Crash!
    Duck sat up. Moonlight shone through the door. Very weird noises came from a pen at the opposite end of the barn.

    Duck told himself he was brave. Or he would be, if whatever was making the noise was friendly.
    He tiptoed down the barn, poked his beak around the wooden pillar, looked inside the pen and saw...
    a goat dancing with four tin cans on his feet and a sheep, with a walkman hanging from its neck, trying to sing while it shone a torch on the goat.

Clunk. Crash. 
Tap. Tap. Bang.
    There it was again!
    Duck shook his feathers. It wasn’t a nightmare.
    â€˜Excuse me.’ But they couldn’t hear Duck over the tin cans and the walkman.
Clunk. Tap. 
Tap. Tap. Bang.
    â€˜QUACK!’ Duck let out his loudest quack.
    Sheep shone the torch on Duck.
    â€˜Oh dear,’ moaned Goat. ‘How embarrassing.’
    â€˜You must be the new duck. We haven’t met,’ said Sheep, just as the headphones fell off and the walkman crashed to the ground.
    â€˜My name’s Duck. Why are you... er... dancing in the middle of the night?’
    â€˜We’re practising,’ said Goat.
    â€˜Practising?’ asked Duck. ‘For what?’
    â€˜We want to go on “Star Quest”, the TV talent show. Then we’ll win money for the farm and be able to entertain the children,’ said Goat.
    â€˜Don’t they like you just as you are?’ asked Duck.
    â€˜Well,’ bleated Sheep. ‘Yesterday, Goat heard the word “boring”. Some children asked their mother when the tigers and elephants were coming.’
    â€˜So what do you do when the children come to see you?’ Duck was really interested.
    â€˜I say my “Baas” clearly and make sure my wool is curly,’ said Sheep.
    â€˜Stand up straight, keep our straw clean and try not to frighten the children,’ added Goat.
    â€˜Is that all you do?’ asked Duck politely.
    â€˜It’s been enough up until now,’ said Sheep.
    â€˜I think I understand the problem,’ nodded Duck.
    â€˜We practise at night,’ said Goat.
    â€˜Why?’ asked Duck.
    â€˜Imagine what Pig would say if he saw us,’ explained Goat.
    â€˜We can’t be boring. Horse gives the children rides and Cow provides milkshakes, and Parrot talks to visitors,’ said Sheep.
    â€˜Mind you, he only asks for crackers,’ said Goat.
    â€˜I haven’t met them yet, ‘said Duck.
    â€˜You will. They know you’re here,’ smiled Sheep.
    â€˜I won’t laugh at you,’ promised Duck.
    â€˜Wonderful. An audience,’ said Goat.
    â€˜My torch batteries just died,’ said Sheep.

    â€˜Use the moon.’ Duck flew up onto the railing to be an audience.
    In the moonlight, Goat and Sheep performed.
    It was dreadful. What could Duck say? When they had finished Goat and Sheep bowed.
    Duck clapped. He had to.
    â€˜What d’you think?’ asked Sheep.
    Duck thought.
    â€˜It must have been awful,’ said Goat. ‘He’s being polite.’
    Duck knew he had to say something.
    â€˜You’ve got good ideas.’ He paused. ‘I might be able to help you. I was in the school play.’
    â€˜You’ve performed before?’ asked Goat.
    â€˜Yes. I played the third camel in the Christmas play,’ said Duck.
    â€˜I played a sheep in a Parade once,’ said Sheep.
    â€˜I’ve never been in anything,’ said Goat.
    â€˜Duck, you could be our Director,’ said Sheep.
    Duck liked that idea.
    Later, Duck snuggled on a