Funny Farm

Hello! My name is Tim. I am a little puppy. I live in a big farm with my uncle Shaggy. He is a big old dog. He guards our farm. Our farmer Jack and his wife Mary are good people. They love animals very much and take care of them.

It is warm today and I am playing in the garden. Suddenly I see a little animal. It is sitting under the bush.

«Hello! I am Tim! And who are you?» I ask.

«Hello! I am Chloe,» she answers.

«Are you a puppy?»

«I don’t know,» she says sadly.

I look at her with interest.

«You have got a tail, four paws and two ears. You look just like me. You are probably a puppy. Can you say, „Woof!“?»

«Meow,» answers Chloe.

«Moo?» I ask. «You are not a puppy. I know who says «Moo’. It is a cow. But our cow is so big and you are so small. Maybe you are a little cow. Let’s go to Mrs Maggie and ask her.»

We run to the yard.

Mrs Maggie is a big black cow with white spots.

«Hello, Mrs Maggie!» we say.

«Hello, children! Do you want some milk?» she asks.

«No, thank you. I don’t like milk,» I answer.

«What is milk?» asks Chloe with interest.

Mrs Maggie smiles.

«I have got a lot of milk. The farmer’s wife milks me every day.»

She gives Chloe a plate with milk.

«Here you are!»

Chloe drinks it. She really likes it.

«Oh, it is so tasty!»

«You are not a cow,» I say. «Cows don’t drink milk, they give it to people.»

Chloe is sad. She likes cows and she wants to be a cow.

I don’t like that Chloe is sad and I say, «You are fluffy. So maybe you are a rabbit?»

We go to the rabbit’s house. Fluffy rabbits are playing in the grass.

«Hi, rabbits!» I say.

«Hello, Tim!» say the rabbits.

«Am I a rabbit?» asks Chloe.

The rabbits look at her with interest.

«You don’t look like a rabbit,» they say. «Our ears are long and your ears are short.»

«Oh, I am not a rabbit…»

Chloe is sad again.

«You are so small and so fluffy like a chicken,» says one of the rabbits.

«Chloe!» I say. «Let’s go to Mrs Ginger. She is a hen. She has got a lot of children. Maybe you are one of them?»

We go to the chicken’s house. Small chickens are running in the yard. Mrs Ginger is a brown hen. She is sitting on the nest.

«Hello, Mrs Ginger!» we say.

«Hi, children!» says Mrs Ginger.

«This is Chloe,» I say. «Is Chloe a chicken?»

Mrs Ginger looks at Chloe.

«You don’t look like a chicken. My chickens are yellow and you are red,» she says. «And do you like worms?»

«Worms?» asks Chloe.

«All chickens like worms very much,» explains Mrs Ginger.

Chloe smells a worm.

«I don’t like worms. I like milk,» she says sadly. «Oh, who am I?»

«Don’t be so sad,» I say. «You are red and I know who is red. It’s a squirrel!»

We run to the big tree in our garden. A deep hole is in the tree. Mrs Squirrel is sitting on the branch.

«Hello, Mrs Squirrel! Tell me please,» asks Chloe. «Am I a squirrel?»

Mrs Squirrel climbs down the tree.

«You don’t look like a squirrel,» she answers. «But can you climb trees?»

«Oh, I think I can,» says Chloe.

She climbs up and down the tree perfectly.

«Take this beautiful nut,» says Mrs Squirrel. «All squirrels like nuts very much.»

Chloe takes the nut. She smells the nut. But she doesn’t like it because she is not a squirrel. Chloe is very sad again. She doesn’t know who she is.

And I don’t know how to help her.

«You are small but you are not a chicken. You are fluffy but you are not a rabbit. You can climb trees but you are not a squirrel. And you like milk.»

«You are silly,» says someone.

Suddenly we see a thin black cat with a long tail. She is sitting on the green fence. Her name is Scratchy and she guards our farm from mice.

«Chloe is not a squirrel,» says Scratchy. «She is a little kitten.»

«Are you sure?» we ask.

«Of course, I am sure. I know everything. I am very clever. Chloe is a little red kitten. That’s why she likes milk and can climb the trees. Because all cats like milk and, of course, all cats can climb the trees perfectly.»

«Oh, thank you, Mrs Scratchy!» we say. We are very happy. Now Chloe knows who she is. She is a kitten!

Exercises

1. Circle the odd word out

a) chicken, cow, puppy, kitten

b) climb, run, sit, bush

c) tree, bush, squirrel, grass

d) long, nut, short, fluffy

2. Match

3. Guess

Who am I?

a) I can climb the trees perfectly. I am red. I like nuts. I live in a deep hole in the tree. Who am I?

b) I am fluffy. My ears are long. I can jump. Who am I?

c) I am big. I give milk to people. I like grass. I say: «Moo». Who am I?

d) I am small and yellow. I like worms. Who am I?

e) I can climb the trees perfectly. I like milk. I guard the farm from mice. Who am I?

f) I guard the farm. I am big. I say, «Woof!» Who am I?

4. Fill in the gaps with: am, is, are

a) Fluffy rabbits ______ playing in the grass.

b) It ______ warm today.

c) I ______ a little puppy.

d) Chloe _______ sad.

e) Chickens ______ small and yellow.

e) A deep hole ______ in the tree.

f) You can climb the trees but you _______ not a squirrel.

g) Our farmer Jack and his wife Mary ______ good people.

5. Act

a) You look like a hen.

b) You look like a cat.

c) You look like a cow.