by Claire Garth
‘Oh, thank goodness. I can’t speak sheep – actually, I’ve never really met a sheep up close before. So I had no idea how I was going to save you all!’ Grover explained.
‘Save us all?’ Barbara asked. She seemed confused. ‘Honey, what are you trying to save us from?’
‘The foxes, of course,’ said Grover. How could this sheep not know the danger she’s in!
‘Oh, the foxes,’ Barbara replied sarcastically.
‘Yes, the foxes! If I don’t get you all into that barn by night-time, the foxes will come and, well…’ Grover couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
‘Then the foxes will what?’ Barbara asked, grinning. ‘Eat us?’
‘YES!’ said Grover. ‘Doesn’t that scare you?’ he asked with concern.
‘Oh, honey, please! You don’t really think we’re all going to stay out here and let ourselves be eaten by foxes?’ she said. ‘Heck no! We know where the barn is. We could walk there by ourselves. It’s just so much fun watching those farm dogs think they’re bossing us around!’
‘So, they don’t actually have to herd you in there?’ Grover asked, surprised.
‘Nope. But they think they do, and we make them act like fools while they try. Let’s just say it’s a little sheep revenge,’ Barbara replied with a smile.
Grover didn’t know what to say. Who knew that sheep were so clever!
‘So, Barbara, if you don’t need farm dogs to herd you into the barn, what will make you all go up there now? I’ve tried running around and barking, and then I tried to jump onto some sheep’s backs. But they didn’t seem to even notice me,’ said Grover, trying to figure it all out. ‘Should I try running around again?’
‘Sure,’ Barbara replied. ‘You could try that. Or you could just politely ask us all to head to the barn for the night.’
Grover was stunned. Was this sheep serious? Could it really be that simple?
‘But I tried that before, and all the sheep ignored me,’ he said, puzzled.
‘Sorry, honey, but we couldn’t let those mean farm dogs know that they don’t need to herd us. We had to pretend not to hear you,’ Barbara explained.
‘But if all Steve and Rusty and Rex have to do is ask you politely, why do they still insist on herding?’ Grover asked. He was completely confused.
‘Well, Grover, they’ve never actually tried asking us nicely before, so I guess that’s why they don’t know,’ Barbara replied, as she shook her woolly coat. ‘You seem like a very kind dog, though. Why don’t you give it a whirl? Let’s see how you do!’
Okay, Grover, you’ve got this, he thought. You can definitely do this.
CHAPTER 9
Grover cleared his throat and focused on using his most respectful voice. ‘Umm, excuse me, everyone? May I please have your attention?’ he called out.
No-one moved.
‘You’ve got to be louder, honey,’ said Barbara. ‘These sheep have been ignoring dogs for years. Try raising your voice.’
‘Ahem … EXCUSE ME, EVERYONE! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE?’ Grover barked in a loud but polite voice.
Still nothing!
‘Oh, honey, please,’ said Barbara, rolling her eyes. ‘You’ve got to put some OOMPH into it!’
She turned to the entire flock and yelled, ‘EVERYONE! GET YOUR HEADS UP FROM THE GROUND! LISTEN OVER HERE FOR JUST A SECOND, WOULD YOU?’
To Grover’s amazement, every single sheep looked up.
‘There you go, honey. Now tell them what you need to say,’ said Barbara.
‘Oh, um, hello, everyone. My name is Grover McBane, and I’m not from around here. I don’t really know how this works, but I’ve been told to make sure you all get safely into the barn by night-time … And, well, I was hoping I might be able to take you all over there now. If that’s okay with everyone, of course.’ Grover was so nervous that he was slightly out of breath.
‘What did that dog say?’ yelled a sheep from the back.
‘He says he wants to walk us all to the barn!’ another one replied.
‘So he isn’t going to chase us?’ asked another sheep. Grover heard the flock start to whisper to each other.
‘No, no!’ Grover replied. ‘I don’t want to chase you! It would be so much nicer if we all just walked there together, wouldn’t it?’
‘Those farm dogs haven’t been very kind to Grover,’ said Barbara. ‘They’ve been bullying him and they think they’ve set him up to fail. Well, my friends, are we going to let them win? Or are we going to help this polite city dog by walking over to our barn a little early tonight?’
‘What about the story?’ came a tiny voice from the back.
‘Honey, what story do you mean?’ Barbara asked.
‘The farm dogs told him to tuck us in and read us a story,’ said the little voice. ‘I want a story. We haven’t had one in a long time.’
Wow, Grover thought. Those sheep really were listening. They understood everything. How could the dogs not have known!
‘Well, I can tell you a story,’ said Grover. ‘That’s no problem at all!’
‘So, do we have a deal, everyone?’ Barbara asked. ‘You’ll all walk over to the barn now and then Grover will tell you a bedtime story.’
‘Deal!’ the sheep cheered.
To Grover’s surprise and relief, every single sheep stopped munching on the grass and started heading up the hill towards the barn. The sun was now disappearing behind the horizon. It wouldn’t be long before it was completely dark and the foxes came out to play.
‘Come on, you lot. Don’t dillydally,’ Barbara called out as the sheep trotted up the hill.
Finally, just as the last little bit of daylight was fading, the flock made it to the barn.
CHAPTER 10
The barn was warm and lovely inside. It was filled with soft yellow hay and big troughs of water. The sheep all took turns to have a drink, and then found special spots to curl up for the night.
Grover saw a few hay bales stacked together, so he quickly climbed up to the top for a better view.
There must have been at least 200 sheep piling into the barn. Grover could see a fluffy sea of white below him. The sheep reminded him of clouds. Plump, fluffy white clouds all forming together as the sheep lay down to sleep.
‘What about the story?’ the little sheep called out again.
‘Okay, here we go!’ Grover replied loudly. ‘Once upon a time, there was a puppy called Squeak. He lived in the city,’ Grover started.
‘Is this a made-up story?’ one of the sheep interrupted.
‘Not at all,’ said Grover. ‘This is a true story. And if you listen very carefully, you may even hear yourselves in it!’
If I tell the sheep about Squeak and explain that he’s new to the farm, they’ll help him settle in quickly, Grover thought. And then he’ll make Farmer John proud, and show his brothers that they can’t bully him. It’s perfect! Grover was very satisfied with his brilliant idea.
As Grover continued the story, he had the full attention of every single sheep in the barn. It was so quiet that you could have heard a stick of straw drop onto the floor.
Suddenly, Farmer John appeared at the door, with Steve, Rusty and Rex in front of him. Annie and David were behind them, along with Laura, Emily and Grace.
The three farm dogs were clearly in shock. Their jaws were hanging wide open and they stood still, stunned.
Squeak ran into the barn and cried, ‘You did it! I knew you could do it, Grover!’ He gave Grover a huge LICK to celebrate.
‘Well, I’ll be!’ Farmer John exclaimed. ‘I came back out here after dinner to finish putting all the sheep to bed, but you’ve already done it, Grover!’ he said joyfully. ‘And all on your own! I could certainly use a dog like you on the farm. Are you sure you don’t want to stay, too?’
Grover jumped down off the bales of hay and went over to Barbara.
‘Oh, Barbara, how can I ever thank you?’ said Grover. ‘You helped me turn what could hav
e been a disaster into something wonderful. I couldn’t have put those bullies back in their place without you. Thank you so much.’
‘Honey, it was nothing,’ said Barbara, blushing. ‘Farmer John is right – we could use a nice, friendly dog like you around the farm. Are you sure we can’t convince you to stay?’
‘Sadly, no,’ Grover replied. ‘I have a job in the city, but I promise I’ll come back to visit. I quite like farm life!’
He went over to Annie and David, who hugged him and scratched behind his ears. ‘You did really well today, Grover. I’m so proud of you,’ said Annie.
Farmer John ruffled the hair on Grover’s head. ‘Maybe these three will be as good as you one day,’ he said, looking at Steve, Rusty and Rex. The three farm dogs seemed a little embarrassed.
As the group made their way over to the house, Grover hung back to talk to the farm dogs.
‘I bet you think you’re the best farm dog ever. Don’t you, Grover?’ Steve mocked.
‘Not at all,’ Grover replied. ‘I’m just a dog from the city who tried to be a farm dog for a day. You guys are the experts out here, just like I’m an expert at my job in the city. Everyone has different talents.’
‘Well, you did get the sheep in before the foxes got them, so … thank you,’ Steve said reluctantly.
‘My pleasure,’ said Grover, smiling.
‘Maybe you could help us out in the morning before you leave?’ Steve asked.
‘I’d like that a lot. I’ll tell you what,’ said Grover, ‘I’ll help you in the morning if you promise you’ll look after Squeak. You know, show him the ropes, and help him to be the best farm dog he can be.’
‘You’ve got yourself a deal!’ said the three dogs together.
Perhaps these working dogs aren’t so bad after all, thought Grover.
As they neared the steps of the house, Grover noticed a very familiar smell. His tummy started grumbling loudly. He could definitely still smell roast chicken!
‘We saved you some roast chicken,’ said Squeak. ‘It’s delicious, Grover. You’re going to love it!’
Grover began to drool. Mmm, roast chicken …
After Grover had gobbled up his roast chicken and dog biscuits, he went into the lounge room and flopped at Annie’s feet. She reached down and gently stroked his head and back. It felt SOOO good.
Squeak suddenly arrived at his side and snuggled in next to him. Grover was so tired that he barely noticed Squeak making a blanket out of Grover’s tummy fur. As the dogs began drifting off to sleep, Grover couldn’t help smiling.
I can’t wait to see Mr Tibbles, he thought. He’s going to be so shocked when I tell him I herded 200 sheep. Maybe I’ll tell him that if he isn’t nice to me, I’ll herd him too!
MEET GROVER McBANE
AND HIS FRIENDS…
GROVER
AGE: Three
BREED: Border collie
LIKES: Warm beds, travelling in the car, playing hide and seek
DISLIKES: Rain, water, baths
FAVOURITE FOOD: Roast chicken, and a sneaky roast potato
NAUGHTIEST TRICK: Chasing cats
SQUEAK
AGE: Four months
BREED: Kelpie
LIKES: Swimming, running
DISLIKES: Sitting still
FAVOURITE FOOD: Roast chicken
NAUGHTIEST TRICK: Biting other dogs’ tails
MR TIBBLES
AGE: Twelve
BREED: Domestic cat
LIKES: Attention
DISLIKES: Dogs
FAVOURITE FOOD: Salmon
NAUGHTIEST TRICK: Teasing dogs
STEVE, RUSTY and REX
AGE: Seven, six and four years old
BREED: Kelpie and blue heeler
LIKES: Herding
DISLIKES: City dogs, being bored
FAVOURITE FOOD: Anything, as long as there’s lots of it
NAUGHTIEST TRICK: Being mean to city dogs
BARBARA
AGE: Nine years old
BREED: Merino sheep
LIKES: Manners
DISLIKES: Bullies
FAVOURITE FOOD: Grass
NAUGHTIEST TRICK: Pretending not to understand farm dogs
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Garth is a former primary school teacher. She now works as the General Manager at the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.
Claire adopted the real Grover in 2013, and together they work to raise awareness about animal rescue.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Johannes Leak is an illustrator and commercial artist who specialises in cartooning, magazine illustration, music album artwork and storyboards. He lives and works on the New South Wales Central Coast, where he can also be spotted surfing and walking his dog, Calvin.
SYDNEY DOGS AND CATS HOME
The Sydney Dogs and Cats Home (SDCH) is an animal pound that has been taking care of Sydney’s lost and abandoned animals since 1946.
Each year, the Home helps over 3000 animals just like Grover to find a new family. Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, rabbits, birds, chickens, guinea pigs and ducks – even occasionally sheep and llamas! The Sydney Dogs and Cats Home searches far and wide to find new homes for the animals. Sometimes they fly them to other parts of Australia or even overseas. Animals stay at the Home as long it takes to find them new owners.
The Sydney Dogs and Cats Home is open 365 days of the year. If your family is looking for a new pet, consider adopting a lost animal from the Home instead of buying one from a pet shop. Adopt, don’t shop!
www.sydneydogsandcatshome.org
By purchasing this book, you are supporting the work of the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.
DID YOU KNOW GROVER McBANE IS A REAL DOG?
Author Claire Garth adopted him from the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home.
You can see more photos of Grover on Instagram: @grovermcbane
READ MORE OF GROVER’S ADVENTURES IN:
GROVER FINDS A HOME
Grover McBane escapes from his owner’s yard and is taken to the animal shelter.
READ MORE OF GROVER’S ADVENTURES IN:
GROVER’S NEW FRIENDS
Lots of surprises are in store for Grover as he meets some of the other dogs at the shelter!
READ MORE OF GROVER’S ADVENTURES IN:
GROVER, BENJI and NANNA JEAN
Grover must help his blind friend, Benji, find the perfect new forever home.
READ MORE OF GROVER’S ADVENTURES IN:
GROVER, STRETCH and the BROKEN LEG
Grover’s life is turned upside down when a lively puppy with a broken leg comes to stay.