Barnyard Mystery

"The Barnyard Mystery"
was created especially for
Jessica Lynne Smith
at the age of 6


With love from
Mom and Dad

Grandma had invited Jessica to visit Farmer Ted on his farm. The farm was just a few miles from Jessica's home in Atlanta. As they approached Farmer Ted's farm, Jessica saw something strange in the corn field.
"What is that?" Jessica asked.
"Oh, that's a scarecrow," replied Grandma.
"It's supposed to scare birds away from the corn. But, as you can see, Jessica, it doesn't always work."

As they drove down the lane, Jessica could see Farmer Ted's barn and house in the distance. She could also see someone riding on a tractor and waving to them.
"Who's that?" asked Jessica.
Grandma answered, "That's Farmer Ted. He looks eager to greet us."

Farmer Ted climbed down from the tractor and walked toward his visitors in their stopped car. Jessica ran from the car and climbed onto the nearby fence. As Farmer Ted again waved hello to Grandma, he looked at Jessica and said, "Well, who do we have here?"
"I am Jessica Smith, and I live in Atlanta", Jessica replied.

Farmer Ted said to Jessica and Grandma, "Maybe you folks can help me solve a mystery." Jessica listened with great interest as she continued: "You see, before I went into the chicken coop to gather eggs, I took off my favorite straw hat and put it on a barrel next to the door.

When I was finished in the coop, I came out and reached for my hat ... but, it was gone!"
Grandma said to Farmer Ted, "Oh, you probably wore your hat into the coop, and took it off there."
Grandma continued, "Jessica, would you please look in the chicken coop. I'm sure Farmer Ted's hat is in there."
Jessica nodded, and as she walked toward the coop, Grandma said, "And, if you don't find it there, just look around the barnyard. I am going to visit with Farmer Ted in the house."

So, Jessica went into the chicken coop looking for the straw hat as Grandma had requested. The hens greeted her with "cluck ... cluck ... cluck" along with many curious looks as she continued her search.
But the hat was nowhere to be found in the chicken coop. Sensing that the chickens were angry about the search, Jessica quickly left to continue looking in other places.

Jessica thought that maybe Farmer Ted's dog could help her. Jessica tried to tell the dog what she was looking for. She grabbed some straw and held it over her head. She hoped that the dog would understand that she was looking for the straw hat.

Suddenly the dog began to bark and run around Jessica. Could it be that he understood what Jessica wanted?
"Good boy!" Jessica shouted. "Show me where the hat is! I'll follow you."
Farmer Ted's dog took off running toward the open barn door. Jessica followed quickly behind the excited dog.

As Jessica entered the barn, she saw the dog looking up towards the loft and barking. "Oh, Farmer Ted's hat must be in the loft!" Jessica thought. She climbed the ladder, certain that her search would soon be ended with success.

But, as Jessica reached the top of the ladder and looked around the loft, there was no straw hat to be seen.
Farmer Ted's dog understood the "straw" part of Jessica's message.
There surely was a lot of straw up there ... but, no straw HAT!
Perched on one of the bales of straw was a barn owl. "Hoo ... hoo ... hoo," said the owl.
"It's not WHO but WHAT that I'm looking for," said Jessica as if to answer a question from the owl.

Jessica, left the barn, and decided to try to get some clues from the barnyard animals. As she approached one of the cows, Jessica combined gestures with her own kind of cow-talk, "Moo ... moo ... straw hat ... moo ... lost ... moo ... have you ... moo ... seen it?"

Continuing her search, Jessica decided to talk to one of Farmer Ted's pigs. Again, using her own style of people - pig talk, Jessica asked the large pig, "Oink ... ... oink ... straw hat ... oink ... have you ... oink ... seen it?"
The pig stared at Jessica with a curious look. But, no clues from this corner of the barnyard either.

Walking to the other side of the barn, Jessica saw some ducks in a pen. She thought maybe they could help her. So, she continued her questioning, "Quack ... quack ... straw hat ... quack ...Farmer Ted ... quack ... lost ... quack ... have you ... quack ... seen it?"
In response, the ducks looked at one another as if they had no idea as to what Jessica was asking.

Looking out into the pasture, Jessica saw a small horse ... just her size. Then she heard Grandma call out: "Jessica, where are you going?"
Jessica shouted back, "I'm going to ride this horse around and look for Farmer Ted's hat."
"Be careful, Jessica," Grandma warned.

Riding the pony, Jessica thought, "This is like being a cowboy - barnyard detective ... Detective Jessica Smith."
Jessica saw the tractor which Farmer Ted had been driving. She thought that maybe Farmer Ted had left his hat there. But, it was nowhere to be found.
A noisy crow flew overhead and circled Jessica. "Caw ... caw ... caw," it screeched. To Jessica it sounded like the pesky crow was laughing at her.

Just then, Farmer Ted's dog began barking and looking up at the noisy crow.
As the dog ran, following the flight of the crow, Jessica's pony trotted in the same direction.

As Jessica, up on the pony, and Farmer Ted's dog chased the crow, they saw it land on the head of the scarecrow. And, beneath the crow, resting upon the scarecrow's head was a hat ... a straw hat ... Farmer Ted's hat! It was obvious to Jessica that the crow was the barnyard thief.
In the distance, Jessica could hear the voices of Farmer Ted and Grandma.

When Farmer Ted arrived on the scene, he said, "Jessica, that's my hat! You're quite a detective, Jessica Smith!"
Jessica smiled. She patted the pony and winked at the dog ... her detective partners.
The barnyard mystery had been solved.