April Adventure Read Online Free Page A

closer. A large rabbit was sound asleep on Mr. Neater’s knees.
    Pal whimpered and tried to lick Douglas. Bradley held the leash tightly.
    “Can I pet him?” Lucy asked.
    Mr. Neater smiled. “Douglas will be sad if you don’t!” he said.
    Lucy patted the rabbit’s soft head. Douglas twitched his ears and wiggled his tail.
    “What brings you kids here?” Mr. Neater asked.
    Bradley told Mr. Neater about thegolden eggs in the swans’ nest.

    “My goodness, that is a problem,” Mr. Neater said. “It’s a sad thing, but a lot of wild birds lose their eggs to other animals who want to eat them.”
    “We were wondering if the petting zoo still has swans,” Bradley said.
    “Why, yes, we have a pair out in the barn,” Mr. Neater said. Then he grinned. “Say, I’ll bet I know what you’re thinking. You want one of their eggs, right?”
    “Do they have any eggs, Mr. Neater?” Nate asked.
    Mr. Neater nodded. “You bet. I think they have a bunch this season.”
    “Wow! Could we get one?” Bradley asked.
    “Let’s go talk to Tom, our swan expert,” Mr. Neater said. He put Douglas on the floor and stood up. “Follow me!”
    Mr. Neater led the kids and Pal intoa small barn. The first thing they saw was a mother hen and a batch of yellow baby chicks.
    “Over this way,” Mr. Neater said. They followed him to a pen. Inside the pen, two swans were lying on some straw. An open door led to an outdoor area with a small pond. “The momma is the one with her head down. And there is her clutch of eggs.”
    Bradley gasped. Up close, the swans were really big! They were as white as snow, with orange beaks and bright, shiny eyes.
    “Hi, Mr. Neater,” a voice said. A young man walked over to the pen. He was wearing a dark green sweatshirt with a PETTING ZOO patch on one sleeve.
    “Hi, Tom,” Mr. Neater said. He introduced the kids and Pal. Then he told Tom about the swans in the park.
    “My young friends here are hopingyour swans won’t mind giving one of their eggs,” Mr. Neater said.
    “I’m sure they won’t mind,” Tom said. “In fact, they have too many eggs. They usually lay from three to eight, but this year we have ten!”
    Tom entered the pen and spoke softly to the mother swan. Then he reached into the nest and pulled out two greenish-colored eggs. “These should hatch in about ten days,” Tom said. “But we have to put them in the new nest pretty fast.”
    “But what if the snake or raccoons eat them before they hatch?” Bradley asked.
    Tom put the eggs inside his sweatshirt pocket. “That’s always a problem,”he said. He looked at Mr. Neater. “Any suggestions?”

    The man shook his head.
    “I have an idea!” Lucy said.
    They all listened as she explained.
    “You know, that just might work,” Tom said. “I’ll meet you guys out front in five minutes!”

While they waited, the kids played with the baby goat. He nibbled on their fingers and licked the palms of their hands.
    “Okay, we’re all set!” Tom said a few minutes later. He came back with a tall man wearing a green sweatshirt like his. “This is Luke. He’s a volunteer like Mr. Neater, and he’s going to help us.”
    Luke was carrying a plastic kiddie pool. “We use this for ducklings,” he said. “But it’ll be perfect for your project.”
    The three adults, four kids, and Palheaded back to Center Park.
    “Can you take us to the swans’ nest?” Tom asked.
    “Sure,” Bradley said. He and Pal led the way.
    “Look,” Lucy whispered as they approached the nest.
    One of the swans was lying on the nest. The other one swam in the pond nearby.
    “The mother is on the nest,” Luke whispered. “Her mate keeps an eye on her to make sure she’s safe.”
    “That poor mother swan is trying to hatch the eggs,” Mr. Neater said.
    “Okay, to make this work, we need to get her off the nest,” Luke said. He walked toward the nest, waving the kiddie pool.
    The mother swan hissed at him, but she hopped off her nest and