This is our family
Before we show you around the farm, let us introduce ourselves. I'm Vreni and this is my brother Nils! Together with our parents, farmer Johanna and farmer Franz, and our little brother Casimir we have lots of adventures on the farm every day. Mum and Dad are busy on the farm all day. For example, Mum has to milk the cows very early every morning and feed the chickens. The fresh milk always tastes especially good! Sometimes we help Mum with that, but most of the time we'd rather sleep a bit longer. Mum also looks after the vegetable garden and makes sure we children don't get up to too much mischief and always have something proper to eat. Dad Franz cleans out the stables every day, looks after the animals and then drives the tractor out to the fields to check on the grain, harvest potatoes and maize, or bring in the hay. Nils would love to ride the tractor with Dad all day! I prefer to look after our donkey. When we're not driving the tractor or helping our parents, we like to romp about in the hayloft and watch the animals through the boards. We also love playing with the rabbits Mimi and Hoppel and our dog Lucky. Right, now off we go on our little farm tour!
Our little farm
Every farm of course has a stable for the animals. Ours is really nice – big and bright, with roomy, well kept stalls so our cow with her calf, the sheep, the pigs and our donkey feel at home. We usually leave the big stable gate and door open in good weather, because our animals are curious and want to see what's happening outside on the farm. Our hens mostly strut about there, clucking important-sounding noises as they peck for grain and particularly fat earthworms. … Phew! Quite a lot of animals, isn't it? Right behind the stable gate a ladder leads up to the hayloft, the favourite playground for us children and our friends. Up there it's never boring – we play hide-and-seek, have cosy picnics and are sometimes even allowed to sleep in the hay! Well, Nils and I – Casimir is of course still too small. But the ladder isn't the only way up to the hayloft. On the outside of the stable there's a rope winch that pulls the hay up. When it's time, everyone always has to help!
Our farmhouse with vegetable garden
We live in a cosy little farmhouse. Mum Johanna makes sure everything is tidy inside and out. She has decorated the walls with pictures and bunches of herbs and lets a rose bush grow around the front door. Can you smell it too? Mum Johanna has cooked lunch! I wonder what's on the menu today? Now Nils and I must hurry! We eat together every day at our big table, and often do crafts and paint here too. Today there is soup for lunch made with vegetables from our own garden. For dessert Mum has made waffles with strawberries. Mmmmmmm! There's also a ladder up to the loft. We play there when the weather's too bad to go outside. Sometimes Dad has a nap there too, but don't tell Mum! By the way, our dog Lucky also has his very own little house! His doghouse is his pride and is fiercely defended against curious hens and rabbits that would love to take a peek inside. Right next to our house is the vegetable garden. There's almost always something tasty to harvest there: carrots, for example, radishes or lettuce. Our cheeky hens have noticed that too.
Like a big adventure playground
In the afternoons after kindergarten or during the holidays our friends often come to visit. "At your place it's like a big adventure playground with a petting zoo," my two best friends Lilli and Mali always say. I think they'd love to live on a farm with so much space and such lovely animals. But they have me and can always come and visit. Then we play with the cute little piglets, spoil the rabbits with carrots and lettuce leaves, or cuddle the sheep. And every evening we fall into bed tired and already look forward to the next day on our little farm.
