ABSTRACT
Twelve-year-old Jamie was at wit’s end and did not know what to do. She had just finished her chores on the family farm and was gazing into the sky. “What a night!” Jamie thought. The sky was clear and the air was fresh. “The stars will definitely be out tonight,” Jamie predicted, enjoying the diversion from the issue that had consumed her for weeks. Just then, Jamie’s mother, Laura, opened the door to the farmhouse and yelled out to Jamie, who had been standing by the gate to the entrance of the pen where the pigs were located. A larger fenced in area amounting to approximately an acre contained the cows, goats, sheep, and donkey. Another smaller fenced in area contained the goats, sheep, and cows used for 4H show events. Rabbits were also grown and nurtured on the Turner family livestock farm located near Zeaning, Iowa, near the middle of the state. Jamie helped her father maintain the farm and keep all of these animals properly fed, groomed, and cared for.
