The Boy and the Goose

Noah, an eight-year-old boy with muddy yellow boots and a gap-toothed smile, lives in a small house at the edge of town. When kind Mrs. Patel from the local animal rescue asks him to take home a plump white goose named Gilbert, Noah happily agrees. Gilbert has soft feathers, a bright orange beak, a slightly crooked wing from an old injury, and a braided red ribbon around his neck. Noah settles him in a straw-lined crate in the garden shed and pictures the fun ahead.

Soon the fun gives way to frustration, as Gilbert honks before sunrise, at the kitchen door, and under the window during homework. Noah covers his ears and starts to think the goose was a mistake. Mrs. Patel gently suggests that Gilbert is trying to say something and that close watching will reveal what. Sitting on a stool in the garden, Noah begins to notice patterns in the honking. Written by Jane MEADOW, this warm tale can be read on Kids Tale Book.