Free Moo by Sharon Creech

realized we hadn’t seen her yet that morning. Isn’t she coming?
    We all turned toward the house. No lights on, all dark, all quiet.
    She’s probably still sleeping , Dad said, like most people at this hour. Let her sleep.
    As our car turned to follow the van pulling out of the drive, I noticed that the attic window was open, but I heard no music, no flute.
    On the way to the fair, Luke said, Did anyone actually ask Mrs. Falala if she wanted to go to the fair?
    I hadn’t even thought about it. I just assumed she was going , I said.
    Wouldn’t she want to see Zora in the ring? Luke asked.
    I guess not.

FAIRGROUNDS
    Rows of cattle vans
    Â Â Â Â  people swarming, old and young
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  cotton candy! fried dough! fudge!
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  hot dogs! tacos! doughnuts!
    Â Â Â Â  beef cattle and dairy cows
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  sheep and chickens
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  pigs and rabbits
    Â Â Â Â  moos and baas
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  oinks and neighs

    Â Â Â Â  flowers and crafts
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  show rings and bleachers
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  games and rides
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Ferris Wheel! Bumper Cars!
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Such a world of its own
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  this fairsweet fairswarm
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â      haven.

MORE PRIMPING
    Rows of cows being groomed:
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  sudsing, fluffing, drying,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  combing, spraying, polishing.
    A loudspeaker crackled:
    Thirty minutes, Group One!
    Along the rows the older teens
    quickened their pace.
    Zep and Beat tucked in their shirts
    wiped off their boots
    slipped cow combs in their back pockets
    grabbed their show sticks
    did a final once-over of their heifers
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Yolanda and YoYo
    and off they marched into the ring.
    Instead of sitting in the bleachers, we stood by the arena rail with Mr. Birch, who explained what was happening. This part was for showmanship: the judges were studying both the animals and their handlers, but final judging in this round centered on the handlers. How well were they showing their animals?
    The teens led their animals clockwise around the ring, and then reversed. The judge lined them up, parallel to each other, and walked back and forth, pausing to study the setup of this or that animal, and pausing to question the handlers.
    We overheard some of the questions: How much does she weigh? When was she born?
    I panicked. What if I were asked these questions about Zora? I didn’t know the answers. Sensing my agitation, Mr. Birch reminded me that Zora was a fall heifer and now weighed about eight hundred pounds.
    The judge moved over to Beat, who stood tall and confident by her heifer, YoYo, and then along the line and finally to Zep and Yolanda.
    I had been watching Zep closely, the way he used the show stick to calm Yolanda, the way he adjusted Yolanda’s stance, moving one foot slightly back, the other slightly forward, all while keeping his attention on the judge. He was so at ease and so gentle with Yolanda, and so at ease with the judge, who, after askingZep several questions, nodded appreciatively before moving on.
    The judge walked up and down the line one more time, studying, until at last he called out the first and second place showmanship winners. We didn’t know them.
    Third place