Bronwyn smiled as she lay on the porch enjoying the late morning sunshine.  It was a lovely, crisp fall day and the trees were all decked out in yellow, orange and red. Bron could feel the sun's warmth on her coat.  It was making her very relaxed and sleepy.

  Isabelle was barking and chasing the giggling and squealing Daisy through piles of fallen leaves in the yard.  As close as Bron could figure out, the game had something to do with raking leaves into a pile and running through it over and over until it was no longer so much a pile as a carpet, then raking them up and beginning again. Isa would run into the pile and be completely hidden until she came out the other side.  The only clues to her location were the sounds of her barking and the moving of the mounds of leaves.  Daisy's was more an air attack, leaping onto the pile from above  and disappearing beneath them.  It was apparently quite funny, regardless of your approach. To Bron, however, nothing could match the appeal of a nap on a day such as this, besides, she thought to herself, leaves make me sneeze.

  Bronwyn and her sister Isabelle were twin chihuahua puppies, but  opposites in almost every way.  Bron had a cream and tan color short coat with a distinctive heartshaped patch on her back. She loved quiet games, cuddling and being read to.  Isa was black all over and her coat was longer.  She had boundless energy and loved noisy chasing games.    Despite their differences, the pups had two things in common.  They both loved food,  almost all kinds of food, and they both loved their girl Daisy.

It had been almost a year since Dad brought the twins home for Daisy's fourth birthday.  They were small enough to fit in the palms of Daddy's large hands.  It was love at first sight, and they had been constant companions from that time on. For the first few weeks,the pups were  fragile little creatures who slept most of the day away.  Daisy was very gentle with them.  Mom helped her make a basket with a thick blanket to keep the puppies warm.  It wasn't long before the bed couldn't contain the pups and they began to explore their new home.  Outside, the pups traveled mostly in Daisy's pink backpack.  Mom had placed a  blanket in there to keep them comfortable.  Even that soon became too small for the growing puppies.

Bron loved to watch Daisy run. She had an infectious laugh and her long red hair sparkled in the sunshine, like the princess in Daisy's storybook.  Bronwyn began to doze as she thought about last night's story. The princess was being held captive in the tower of a dark castle.  She was guarded by a terrible dragon.  Every few pages Mom would tickle Daisy's tummy while she made the "grr" sound of the dragon.  Daisy would explode in a fit of giggles. Isabelle would bark and jump around the bed.  The tickling and giggling were Isa's favorite part, but Bron loved the books.  Soon Bron was fast asleep.  She could see Daisy standing in the window of the castle tower, her red hair blowing in the breeze.  Her big brown eyes were sad and full of tears. She clutched her favorite puppy, Bronwyn close to her chest as Bron growled and snapped at the fearsome dragon.   Isa was far below, on the ground, stamping her feet and  barking at the dragon. She demanded the release of her girl, Daisy.  It was such a ridiculous sight that the dragon began to laugh. His laugh was strong enough to shake the tower walls.  Bronwyn was suddenly awakened as Isa and Daisy bounded onto the porch and  the laughing dragon was replaced by a giggling girl.  "Wake up Bron, I think its time for lunch!" said Daisy.  Lunch, what a nice word.  Yep, I could eat, thought Bronwyn, as she followed Daisy and Isa into the house.

Lunch, for Daisy, was a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk.  On Fridays, she would get chocolate milk, but, today was not Friday.  Peanut butter was Daisy's favorite lunch, but she didn't like the crusts on the bread, so she would tear them off and sneak them to the puppies under the table.  They quite liked lunch with Daisy.

Normally, naptime would follow lunch, however, Daisy had recently declared a war on that word.  After several days of exhausting battles, a peace treaty was issued and heretofore naptime would move to the family room and be called Movie time.  Mom put Daisy's blanket and pillow on the end of the sofa, just in case.  All three girls climbed up onto the sofa while Mom put in the movie.  They all sat up straight and tall to get ready. This is gonna be great, no more naps, she thought.  Bronwyn liked the animals and the singing.  She snuggled close next to Daisy.  Isa was restless at first , but soon settled on Daisy's pillow as the perfect spot.  Daisy looked at her blanket.  Well, it is a little chilly.  I guess the blanket couldn't hurt.  So, she pulled it over her legs.  "Isa, that's my pillow", scolded Daisy.  So, with her head on the pillow, blanket around her and the pups, she looked back toward the movie.  More singing, more animals, Bron yawned. Isa yawned.  Daisy yawned.  Mom returned to find Daisy asleep on the couch, thumb in mouth, both pups asleep at her side.  She turned down the lights and the sound and made a quiet retreat.

After a long nap, Daisy took the pups into her room to play.  It was teaparty time and Bear and Rabbit had both already taken their place at the table.  Bear was decked out in his best vest and tie. The tie had been borrowed from Daddy's closet on an earlier occassion.  Rabbit as always was wearing her favorite straw hat with colorful flowers all around the brim. It had ear holes cut out to accomodate her long fuzzy ears. Daisy got the pups dressed, putting a lovely  crocheted collar on Bronwyn and a  feather boa on Isabelle.  Daisy put the girls in their seats at the small wooden table, as Mom arrived with a tray of cookies for Daisy's guests.  As Daisy poured the tea, Mom gave each a cookie, serving from the left as was only proper.  Bear and Rabbit chose chocolate cookies, while the puppies each chose a bacon flavored one.  This left a chocolate cookie for Daisy.  As Daisy was assisting Bear with his napkin, the pups grabbed their cookies and jumped down.  "How rude!", scolded Daisy.  "You are 'spose to wait, and you haven't had your tea."  Mommy was trying very hard not to laugh as the pups gobbled their cookies.  Bron thought ,make believe tea makes me sneeze. 

This is how Daisy and the girls spent the next few days.  Daddy would come home and they would all have dinner together.  The pups were vigilant, watching for anything that Daisy might drop or spill.  Daddy would sometimes sneak them green vegetables under the table. The pups liked them, but Daddy sure didn't.  If Mommy would catch him, she would make a frown face and Daisy would giggle.  After dinner, Isa would keep Daisy company while she had her bath, retrieving wet tub toys that Daisy would throw over the rim of the tub.  Bronwyn loved this time of day.  This was the time she would spend with Daddy. Often they would take a walk, then Daddy liked to relax with a good book.  His books smelled like coffee and leather.  He would pull Bron up into the chair with him and pat her head. Daddy's books didnt have pictures like Daisy's, no princesses and no dragons.  There was an occasional spy or art theif.  Dad would sometimes read aloud making funny faces and talking with strange voices.  When Daisy was in her pajamas and ready for bed, Mommy would call for Bronwyn, and she would run and join them for  strawberry bubble bath stories.  As Daisy's breathing became slow and deep, all three girls would soon be fast asleep.

On Saturday,  Daddy didnt  go to work.  When Daisy and the puppies burst into the kitchen, Mom and Dad were having their coffee and reading the paper. The conversation was always much the same.  Bronwyn knew it by heart.  Mommy would say, "Oh look, there is a sale on pretty things and what not at the mall!"  Dad would look at her and scowl, saying "Do we really need more pretty things and whatnots?" Then he would go back to his sportspage, and shake his head.  Dad liked to read stories about red birds and rams.  Today,though, he looked up, folded his paper and said , " I thought we could take a drive out to Beaird Farm.  Its a nice day, and I hear they have some new animals out there.  Might be fun, don't ya think?" To see Timmy?" Daisy asked as she jumped up and down. "Can Bron and Isa come, too? They can meet Timmy's dog, Sammy!"   The pups, hearing their names, looked up in expectation.  "I don't see why not.  You will have to keep an extra close eye on them." replied Dad. "Let's go right now, Daddy!  Can we?"asked Daisy. "Hold on, young lady," said Mom.  "You need to eat something first."  Daisy climbed up to her spot at the table.  Mom placed  her breakfast before her,  a scrambled egg, toast, bacon and orange juice.  Bronwyn and Isabelle sat under her chair, waiting for a taste of that bacon.  They were not disappointed. As Mom cleared the breakfast dishes, she said, "Ok, now you need to run and get dressed. I hardly think pajamas are appropriate for going visiting. Don't forget to  brush hair and teeth." Soon, Daisy was back, in a uniquely Daisy ensemble.  Mom and Dad looked up together and smiled.  "We are all ready, she announced as she grabbed her backpack".  " Grab your sweater, it may get chilly later." said Mom.  Once Daisy was out of the room, Mom said," since you all have your day planned, I will go into town and pickup the "you know what".  I have some other shopping to do while I am there."  "Sounds like a plan, then." said Dad.  He folded his paper and took a last sip of his coffee, just as Daisy  returned, sweater in hand, pups at her heels.

D

Turning down the road past the church, Dad made a right  onto the winding gravel road leading to the farmhouse. The llamas looked up from their grazing.  The emus ran along the inside of the fence line. The goats didn't seem to even notice their arrival..  There was so much to see that Daisy and the pups scarcely knew where to look. Daddy was distracted, scanning the pens for the reindeer, but they were nowhere in sight.  All of a sudden,  Daddy's attention was yanked back to the road in front of him when the peacock spread his fanlike feathers and let out an almost unearthly scream.  The pups  took a sudden leap onto Daddy's lap.  "Girls, I'm driving!", scolded Dad as he jerked the wheel.   They clung even tighter to Dad's shirt, shaking terribly. Daisy began to giggle as she tried unsuccessfully to pull them back.  Daddy drove the last few hundred feet with the pups firmly attached.

Reaching the house, Daisy saw Timmy and his chihuahua, Sammy running toward the car .Behind them came a larger dog that Daisy had not seen before.  She was out of the car as soon as it stopped. "When did you get a new dog?" she asked..  "Dog?, Oh, you mean Lil Lewis  I got him last summer.  He isnt a dog. He is a miniature donkey.   Daisy was hugging the donkey before Tim even finished his sentence..  "Where is everybody?," asked Daddy.  "My mom is  in the barn, bottle feeding her new baby calves.  Dad is putting out hay for the livestock, and Nick is at football practice" answered Timmy.  "Daddy, can I pleeeaaassseee go see Aunt Loriann and the babies?" asked Daisy.  "Well, first, I think your puppies might like a drink of water," said Dad.

Hearing a  series of loud honks and a puppy yipe, everyone looked toward the pond.  There was a very  angry goose making his way to the middle of the pond, and a wet Isabelle standing at water's edge.  Dad looked down at Daisy, who put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot, "Isabelle, leave that duck alone!  You can't swim!"Daisy turned to Dad and said "I think Isa already had a drink, "  Daisy, Timmy and Sammy went running off toward the pond. Isabelle was shaking  water from her coat.  The goose, although still somewhat irritated, appeared to be no worse for wear. Daddy caught up with the kids  just as Uncle  Brandon appearred.  Brandon had pulled off his work gloves and held out his hand to Dad, "How ya been cousin?  Miss Daisy,we are gonna have to put a brick on your head, you are growing up so fast."  Dad shook Brandon's hand, "Can't complain", said Dad. "Looks like things are going well for you here..  I didn't see the reindeer."  "No, they are in the back pasture, grazing and  getting nice and strong. Was just about to take the Jeep out there and check on them.  Come with me."  he said. "Daisy was wanting to see the baby bulls." said Dad. "Sure ..  Tim, take Daisy to see the calves", said Brandon as they climbed into the Jeep.

Daisy was elated with the bulls.  She got to feed one of  them a bottle, while Aunt Lori  fed the other.  It  was all she could do to hold onto the bottle with a hungry baby tugging on the other end."You are doing a great job," said Aunt Lori."Lucky for  me you happened along:" "Do they have names?" asked Daisy.  "I was thinking of calling that one Skillet", said Tim, pointing to the one Daisy was feeding.  Tim recieved a warning look from his mother It was a look he knew all too well.."  They won't be cute and cuddly babies for long, sweetheart.  Sometimes, on a farm, it is better not to make pets of your animals," said Aunt Lori.  The pups, who had been watching the feeding, were distracted by the many new smells of the barn. "Barns make me sneeze," thought Bronwyn, as she proceeded to demonstrate.  

Dad was very pleased with the growth of the reindeer.  Being caribou, they are thriving in this colder weather.  During the summer months, they had found plenty of shade near the house, but, were so much more active in the open pastures, now.  "The colder it is, the better these guys are gonna like it." said Brandon.  "That's not surprising, with  Donder and Blitzen for parents.  Did you know that Donder and Blitzen were named for the german words for thunder and lightning" asked Dad. "Is that right?" said Brandon, pushing his hat back on his head. " He coaxed the reindeer over with some carrots and apples he had brought along.

The Jeep pulled into the yard.  The pups, hearing it barked and ran outside.  Timmy and Daisy ran to catch up.  "Well, now that you have seen the babies, would you like to see the other animals, Daisy?" asked Uncle Brandon.  "Yeah! she screamed."  Timmy covered his ears and the men laughed.  Tim shouted, "Sammy!  Porch!  Sammy obediently ran up the steps of the porch and after circling for a minute, found a sunny place to lay.  Dad said to Daisy, "Bron and Isa will need to stay behind as well.  Get their tethers from the car."  "C'mon, I'll help, said Tim."  Soon the pups were settled on the porch and the kids were following Brandon and Dad through the gates of the animal pens. From this vantage point, Isabelle could see the pond.  The goose was swimming back and forth and honking at the dogs Every little while the goose would flap his wings.  Isa watched her intently, growling. Getting more and more agitated by the goose, Isa just had to test her tether, barking on pulling on the leash. Seeing that Isa could not leave the porch, the goose got out of the water, and was sunning in the yard.  Suddenly, a movement from the side of the house drew the dogs attention.  Just as Isa was about to let out another round of barks at the goose, an enormous bird appeared .  Isa stopped midbark, backing up as far as possible from the edge of the porch and whining.  Sammy started laughing hysterically.  That's just Old Earl he told her. He is just an Emu.   He ain't nothing to be scared of.  Bronwyn, taking nothing at face value, sniffed the bird. As Earl lowered his enormous head to be face to face with Bron, she backed up under the nearest chair, shaking.

  The llamas were grazing in the shade of a tree.  "Well, what do you think of them Daisy?" asked Jeb.  "They are very pretty," she said nervously.  Daisy was shifting on her feet and biting her lower lip. "Are they singing?," she asked.  "Good ear, Daisy! Llamas hum to each other as a form of communication," answered Jeb.  "Ya wanna pet one Daisy?  They are very soft" said Brandon.. " Just be sure not to look them straight in the eye.  They think its rude, and they might spit." added Timmy.  "Eww," squealed Daisy.  Dad and Brandon laughed.  "They look like the push me pull you in my storybook, 'cept they only have one head" said Daisy.I know that story, Dr. Doolittle, right?" said Tim.  "He could talk to animals.  That would be really cool."  Finally, Daisy decided.  She did like the llamas, but, she said"I think its a good thing we left Mommy home.  She sure doesn't like spitting." "Have the llamas had a difficult adjustment to the farm, Brandon?" aske Dad.  "No they seem to like it here.  Of course, llamas have been domesticated animals for all of recorded history." said Brandon.  "What is domesticated", asked Daisy.  "It means, honey that they haven't ever been wild animals.  They have been work animals.  They are from South America, specifically the mountains around Peru, and the Inca people used them for carrying bags of supplies up into the mountains.  They also used their wool to make clothing. "Wool?  Does it hurt them? asked Daisy.  "No, its like getting a haircut". "What's an Inca?" asked Daisy.  "They were a tribe in South America.  At one point, they encompassed all of Peru, part of Argentina, part of Columbia and Bolivia".  "What happened to them?", asked Daisy.  "They were conquered by the Spanish." explained Brandon.

The kids turned around so they were facing the men, Sammy in Timmy's lap and Bronwyn in Daisy's.  Isa was even poking her nose out from her hiding place behind Daddy's legs.  "Well", said Dad, "it appears unanimous!".

"Ok, six or seven hundred years ago, there was a tribe of people in South America called the Incas.  They lived high in the Andes mountains, where there were no horses or cows.  They did have llamas, though  The llama was pretty important to the people because it provided transportation, food, and wool for clothing and blankets.  There were many myths among the Incans, and some of them were about the llama.  One of the earliest myths about the llama was about a great flood.  It is very similar to the story of Noah and the Ark from Sunday school.  All of the people, except those very high up in the mountains, had become evil.  They were doing what they wanted, instead of what God wanted.  One day, two brothers who lived way up in the mountains, noticed that the llamas were acting strangely.  The llamas were looking up at the sky.   They asked the llamas to tell them why they were acting so strangely, and the llamas said that the stars had told them a great flood was coming.  Believing this, the brothers took their families and their flocks and went as high as they could into the mountains into a cave they found.  It began to rain.  It rained and rained for four months and four days.  When it finally stopped, all of the evil people had been washed away, and the brothers and their families were left to repopulate the Earth.  The llamas chose to stay high in the mountains, near the stars that had saved them."  What happened next?," asked Tim.  Well, the Inca tribe eventually grew to populate all of what is now Peru

"Well, I guess I better get back to work.  Those animals aren't gonna feed themselves." said Jeb as he stood, and stretched.  Dad rose and fished in his pocket for his car keys.  "Are we going home already, Daddy?", asked Daisy.  "Mom will be looking for us for supper soon."  Dad answered.  All of a sudden, Isa rushed from between Dad's legs toward Old Earl, barking and snapping. Dad was thrown off balance by the sudden movement. and dropped his keys.  Dad looked down and saw his shiny keys on the ground.  Old Earl looked down and saw those shiny keys on the ground.  Dad lunged for them, but he was too late.  Old Earl already had  the keys in his huge mouth. Earl began to run in circles around the yard, with Dad and Isabelle  hot on his heels.   "Don't you dare swallow, you overgrown turkey!", yelled Dad, but, it was already too late.  Daisy and Timmy watched the scene unfold in amazement.  They looked at each other and were trying so hard not to laugh that Daisy  had tears in her eyes. .  She couldn't stand it another second, and she burst out in a fit of giggles.  Timmy fell on the ground, rolling and laughing.  Dad sat down on the ground with his head in his hands, threw a disgruntled look toward the kids.  Immediately, they stopped laughing, and looked back at Dad, then all at once, all three were laughing hysterically.  The puppies were jumping around and yapping trying to get in the game.  Old Earl was just standing looking at the group, and just as they started to get the laughing under control, Jeb said, "Well, I'll be."  At which, all three collapsed into another fit of hysteria.

As soon as he had recovered, Dad pulled out his cell phone and called Mom to bring the extra set of keys.