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Speaker 1: Welcome, sleep Tight Stories Going to the Fair. Going to

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Speaker 1: the Fair is written by Cheryl McFarlane and illustrated by

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Speaker 1: Sheena Lotte. Cheryl McFarlane is a Canadian author who lives

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Speaker 1: on the West Coast of Canada. Aaron's eyes are as

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Speaker 1: bright as the lights from the exhibition grounds, and she

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Speaker 1: can barely tear herself away from the window. The night

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Speaker 1: lasts a thousand years. When she finally sleeps, Aaron will

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Speaker 1: dream first prize with a pumpkin grown to twice her size.

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Speaker 1: In the morning, excitement curbs her usual appetite. She grabs

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Speaker 1: an apple and her bike, a bird on wheels. She's

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Speaker 1: at the fair gates before her friends Kenji, Kate and Ben.

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Speaker 1: As she waits impatiently, the road clogs up with cars

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Speaker 1: and bikes and people, a chance for aunts and uncles

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Speaker 1: to catch up on the family news. People laughing, neighbors chatting,

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Speaker 1: shouts of recognition from long lost friends. Inside the grounds,

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Speaker 1: a clown draws hoots of laughter when he shadows a

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Speaker 1: young mother in the crowd, exaggerating her every move. She

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Speaker 1: discovers his harmless prank, and her laughter mingles with the crowds.

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Speaker 1: Aaron and her friends stop for cotton candy in pink

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Speaker 1: and blue and green, trading sticky strips of sweet spunge sugar.

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Speaker 1: They sprawl on bales of hay and listen to a

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Speaker 1: barber shop quartet. The makeshift stage will offer up a

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Speaker 1: steady stream of local talent throughout the day. When Kate

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Speaker 1: leaves to groom her calf, Ben drags the others to

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Speaker 1: the antique machinery display. He helps his uncle fix up

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Speaker 1: old time tractors on the weekends and knows them all

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Speaker 1: International Harvester John Deere, Massey Ferguson and Minneapolis Moline. Spit

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Speaker 1: shined until they gleam. His uncle lets them climb up

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Speaker 1: into the seat of a perfectly restored vintage H. McCormick.

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Speaker 1: Ben can hardly wait to drive in the tractor per

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Speaker 1: the year he turns sixteen. Nearby, a group of farmers

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Speaker 1: discussed the price of feeder hogs and this year's yield

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Speaker 1: of hay board with tractors. Aaron tags along with Kenji.

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Speaker 1: He has promised to look after his little sister Lena.

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Speaker 1: Dragging her brother by the hand, Lena leads the way

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Speaker 1: to the tug of war, But when the little girl

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Speaker 1: spots the pocket Lady. She drags them off again. Kenji

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Speaker 1: puts a quarter into her tiny, sticky hand, and she

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Speaker 1: zigzags her way through the swarms of children buzzing around

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Speaker 1: the pocket Lady like bees around a high Lena reaches

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Speaker 1: deep into an apron pocket for her prize, a finger puppet,

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Speaker 1: a cloth peg doll. Squealing with delight, she clutches a

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Speaker 1: whirligig made by the church auxiliary. Kenji is eager to

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Speaker 1: show Aaron his barnevelder cock, even though it didn't win

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Speaker 1: a prize. The acrid smell of poultry hits them near

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Speaker 1: the entrance of the tent. Kenji leads them down aisles

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Speaker 1: of clucking, crowing, preening birds, bearded crested, long tailed, and

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Speaker 1: silver laced rows of bantams, fancy egghorns, Rhode Island reds

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Speaker 1: and speckled sussex hens, guinea fowl and geese. He lets

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Speaker 1: them stroke his bird, but Lena wrinkles up her nose.

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Speaker 1: Pee you, she protests, Let's go, let's go, let's go.

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Speaker 1: The four H Club is showing in the livestock ring.

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Speaker 1: Kate is among the girls and boys leading calves past

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Speaker 1: the scrutiny of judges. Points for strong and healthy heifers,

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Speaker 1: points for coats with a well groomed sheen, points for

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Speaker 1: hindquarters straight and strong and clean. Kate proudly leads her

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Speaker 1: red ribbon calf into the comfort of the live stock barn.

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Speaker 1: It is dim and cool and pungent, with the smell

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Speaker 1: of manure and sweet hay, past lines of stalls for

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Speaker 1: cows and pigs and sheep. Her heifer stables near the

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Speaker 1: only team of Clydesdale's. But her grandpa says that the

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Speaker 1: heavy horse teams numbered in the dozens in his day.

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Speaker 1: Aaron and Kate meet at the food tent. Should they

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Speaker 1: have burghers dogs or chili buttered corn or giant dill,

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Speaker 1: root beer or lemonade? There are ice cream cones, BlackBerry scones,

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Speaker 1: and sweet cherry pie. It all smells so good. It's

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Speaker 1: impossible to decide. How'd your pumpkin do? Kate asks, but

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Speaker 1: Aaron shrugs she isn't sure that she really wants to know.

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Speaker 1: They pass. Ben and Kenji, cheering on contenders for the

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Speaker 1: two man crosscut saw. The six foot blade glints like

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Speaker 1: a mirror in the sun. A whistle blows and jagged teeth,

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Speaker 1: the size of fingers slipped through wood like a knife

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Speaker 1: through butter. Pull and push, heave and sweat. Their time

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Speaker 1: looks good, but no one has touched the record yet.

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Speaker 1: Let's go check. Kate insists, sucking on a honeystick. Aaron

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Speaker 1: follows sluggishly. She is in no hurry to find out

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Speaker 1: that she didn't win. The walls of the exhibition hall

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Speaker 1: are a kaleidoscope of quilts, cherry basket, blazing Star and

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Speaker 1: tulip applequet, a great excuse for her to dawdle here

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Speaker 1: and there along the way. The isle ahead is crammed

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Speaker 1: with people the Garden Club, no doubt, some murmur, praise,

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Speaker 1: some disagree, others nod their heads in sympathy. It seems

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Speaker 1: that Miss Rubina's roses won first prize again this year.

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Speaker 1: Poor mister t He works so hard while Miss Rubina's

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Speaker 1: flowers thrive upon neglect in her overgrown backyard, weaving, sewing

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Speaker 1: and crochet. Rows and rows of tables with this year's

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Speaker 1: finest produce on display, Potatoes and tomatoes, cauliflower, peas and beans, parsnips, carrots,

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Speaker 1: and several kinds of vegetables. They've never even seen past

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Speaker 1: peach preserves and pickled beats, jars of jelly and more

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Speaker 1: of jam, chocolate cake, butter tarts and raisin bread, cookies, pies,

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Speaker 1: and flam They pass zucchinis as long as baseball bats,

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Speaker 1: cabbages the size of beach balls, some purple and some green.

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Speaker 1: Sunflower faces gaze serenely from the walls. Maybe we should go,

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Speaker 1: Aaron whispers, I know I didn't win a ribbon. Kate

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Speaker 1: shrieked excitedly, heads turned smile, and others stare. But Aaron

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Speaker 1: and her friend are much too excited to even care

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Speaker 1: third price. They squeal and hug and dance toward the door.

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Speaker 1: The girls join Kenji and the others flinging hay in

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Speaker 1: a haystack treasure hunt. Falling into a giggling heap, they

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Speaker 1: suck their rock candy treats and fill each other in.

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Speaker 1: On the day, no one seems to mind that they

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Speaker 1: look just like the scarecrows on display. The crowds are

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Speaker 1: thinning and the evening sky is sinking. Low. Tired parents

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Speaker 1: gather cranky children, stubbornly insisting that it's not time yet. Go.

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Speaker 1: Kenji and Lena wave goodbye. Then Ben and Kate head

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Speaker 1: off to meet her grandpa at the gate. The exhibition

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Speaker 1: lights are on when Aaron drags her parents from the

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Speaker 1: circle of gabbing grown ups. She'll get her bike tomorrow.

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Speaker 1: When she and her dad pick up her pumpkin with

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Speaker 1: the truck. Before Aaron snuggles into bed, she admires the

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Speaker 1: ribbon pinned above her head. When she drifts off to sleep,

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Speaker 1: giant pumpkin seed varieties will dance through her head. Prize

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Speaker 1: winner Atlantic Giant and ghost Rider, Aspen Spirit, Autumn Gold

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Speaker 1: and Happy Jack. No matter, She's got a whole year

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Speaker 1: to decide, the whole year ahead to dream First Prize