The Nighttime Adventure of the Baby Goats

The Curious Baby Goats

In a warm barnyard lived four baby goats: Nib, Nora, Pip, and Tansy. They spent their days hopping on logs, nibbling hay, and chasing sunbeams across the straw.

“What does the pasture look like at night?” asked Nib one evening.

“Dim,” said Nora.

“Sparkly,” said Pip, looking at the first stars.

Tansy pressed her nose to the gate. “Can we see?”

Farmer Sam heard them and lifted a lantern from its hook.

“A short lantern walk,” he said. “With me, and everyone stays together.”

The Curious Baby Goats

Farmer Sam opened the gate and counted softly.

“Nib, Nora, Pip, Tansy. Four goats.”

The goats followed the lantern glow past the water trough and toward the old apple tree. The moon made silver shapes on the grass.

“Everything smells different,” said Pip.

“Everything is still the same pasture,” said Farmer Sam. “The trough is behind us. The apple tree is ahead. Those are our landmarks.”

The goats looked back and saw the barn door glowing warm and yellow.

A Nighttime Adventure

Crickets chirped under the fence. A moth bumped gently against the lantern glass.

“It sounds like tiny drums,” said Nora.

Nib hopped twice, then stopped beside Farmer Sam.

“May I hop to the apple tree?”

“Yes,” said Farmer Sam. “Hop to the tree and wait.”

Nib hopped to the tree. Nora, Pip, and Tansy followed. Everyone waited until Farmer Sam caught up.

“That is how a group moves safely,” he said.

A Nighttime Adventure

Past the apple tree stood a small stack of hay bales. Tansy spotted a moonbeam on the other side.

“I want to see that sparkle,” she said, and took three little steps around the bales.

The lantern light disappeared for a moment.

Tansy froze.

“I cannot see you,” she bleated.

Farmer Sam stopped at once. “Everyone stand still.”

Nib, Nora, and Pip stood still. No one ran. No one crowded the bales.

“Tansy,” Farmer Sam called, “bleat once.”

“Maa,” called Tansy from the other side.

Separated From The Flock

Farmer Sam walked around the hay bales with the lantern held low. There was Tansy, standing beside a patch of clover.

“I only went a little way,” Tansy said.

“A little way can feel big in the moonlight,” said Farmer Sam.

Tansy pressed against his boot until she felt brave again.

Farmer Sam counted once more.

“Nib, Nora, Pip, Tansy. Four goats.”

The others touched noses with Tansy when she came back.

The Waiting Baby Goat

Farmer Sam turned the lantern toward the barn.

“What landmarks do we know?” he asked.

“Apple tree,” said Nib.

“Water trough,” said Nora.

“Warm barn door,” said Pip.

“Hay bales,” said Tansy, staying close this time.

They walked from the hay bales to the apple tree, from the apple tree to the trough, and from the trough toward the warm yellow barn door.

At the Gate

At the gate, Farmer Sam paused.

“Who is here?”

“Nib,” said Nib.

“Nora,” said Nora.

“Pip,” said Pip.

“Tansy,” said Tansy.

“Four goats,” said Farmer Sam.

The goats walked through the gate one by one. Nib held back his bounce until everyone was inside. Nora waited for Tansy. Pip watched the lantern.

Then Farmer Sam closed the gate with a soft click.

Back Home Safe & Sound

Inside the barn, fresh hay waited in a soft golden pile.

The baby goats tumbled into it, tired and pleased.

“The pasture is sparkly at night,” said Pip.

“And darker behind hay bales,” said Tansy.

“And the barn door is easy to love,” said Nora.

Farmer Sam hung the lantern on its hook.

“Night walks are for staying together,” he said.

The goats nodded sleepily.

The Baby Goats Work Together to Find Their Way Home

Soon the barn was quiet. Moonlight touched the window. The lantern was out, but the goats did not need it anymore.

Nib dreamed of the apple tree. Nora dreamed of crickets. Pip dreamed of the warm barn door. Tansy dreamed of a moonbeam that stayed where everyone could see it.

In the morning, Farmer Sam opened the barn.

“Another walk someday?” asked Nib.

“Someday,” said Farmer Sam. “With a lantern, a count, and four goats together.”

“Four goats together,” Tansy repeated.

Then they bounced into the daylight, where every landmark was easy to see.