"The Barnyard Mystery"

Words in red are the personalized words

was created especially for

Ryan Baker

at the age of 5

With Love From,

Mommy & Daddy

January 23, 2002

Page 3

Nana and Papa had invited Ryan to visit Farmer Sam on his farm. The farm was just a few miles from Ryan's home in Denton, Texas. As they approached Farmer Sam's farm, Ryan saw something strange in the corn field.

“What is that?” Ryan asked.

“Oh, that’s a scarecrow,” replied Papa. “It’s suppose to scare birds away from the corn. But, as you can see, Ryan, it doesn’t always work.”

Page 4

As they drove down the lane, Ryan could see Farmer Sam's barn and house in the distance. He could also see someone riding on a tractor and waving to them.

"Who's that?" asked Ryan.

Nana answered, "That's Farmer Sam. He looks eager to greet us."

Page 7

Farmer Sam climbed down from the tractor and walked toward his visitors in their stopped car. Ryan ran from the car and climbed onto the nearby fence. As Farmer Sam again waved hello to Nana, he looked at Ryan and said, "Well, who do we have here?"

"I am Ryan Baker, and I live in Denton, Texas", Ryan replied.

Page 8

Farmer Sam said to Ryan, Nana and Papa, "Maybe you folks can help me solve a mystery." Ryan listened with great interest as he continued: "You see, before I went into the chicken coop to gather eggs, I took off my favorite straw hat and put it on a barrel next to the door.

Page 11

When I was finished in the coop, I came out and reached for my hat ... but, it was gone!"

Nana said to Farmer Sam, "Oh, you probably wore your hat into the coop, and took it off there."

Nana continued, “Ryan, would you please look in the chicken coop? I’m sure Farmer Sam's hat is in there.”

Ryan nodded, and as he walked toward the coop, Nana said, “And, if you don’t find it there, just look around the barnyard. Papa and I are going to visit with Farmer Sam in the house.”

Page 12

So, Ryan went into the chicken coop looking for the straw hat as Nana had requested. The hens greeted him with "cluck ... cluck ... cluck" along with many curious looks as he continued his search.

But the hat was nowhere to be found in the chicken coop. Sensing that the chickens were angry about the search, Ryan quickly left to continue looking in other places.

Page 15

Ryan thought that maybe Farmer Sam's dog could help him. Ryan tried to tell the dog what he was looking for. He grabbed some straw and held it over his head. He hoped that the dog would understand that he was looking for the straw hat.

Page 16

Suddenly the dog began to bark and run around Ryan. Could it be that he understood what Ryan wanted?

"Good boy!" Ryan shouted. "Show me where the hat is! I'll follow you."

Farmer Sam's dog took off running toward the open barn door. Ryan followed quickly behind the excited dog.

Page 19

As Ryan entered the barn, he saw the dog looking up towards the loft and barking. "Oh, Farmer Sam's hat must be in the loft!" Ryan thought. He climbed the ladder, certain that his search would soon be ended with success.

Page 20

But, as Ryan reached the top of the ladder and looked around the loft, there was no straw hat to be seen.

Farmer Sam's dog understood the "straw" part of Ryan's message.

There surely was a lot of straw up there ... but, no straw HAT!

Perched on one of the bales of straw was a barn owl. "Hoo ... hoo ... hoo," said the owl.

"It's not WHO but WHAT that I'm looking for," said Ryan as if to answer a question from the owl.

Page 23

Ryan, left the barn, and decided to try to get some clues from the barnyard animals. As he approached one of the cows, Ryan combined gestures with his own kind of cow-talk, "Moo ... moo ... straw hat ... moo ... lost ... moo ... have you ... moo ... seen it?"

As the cow continued chewing her hay, Ryan knew that no clue was coming from her. In fact, the cow herself had no clue as to what Ryan was trying to say.

Page 24

Continuing his search, Ryan decided to talk to one of Farmer Sam's pigs. Again, using his own style of people - pig talk, Ryan asked the large pig, "Oink ... ... oink ... straw hat ... oink ... have you ... oink ... seen it?"

The pig stared at Ryan with a curious look. But, no clues from this corner of the barnyard either.

Page 27

Walking to the other side of the barn, Ryan saw some ducks in a pen. He thought maybe they could help him. So, he continued his questioning, "Quack ... quack ... straw hat ... quack ...Farmer Sam ... quack ... lost ... quack ... have you ... quack ... seen it?" In response, the ducks looked at one another as if they had no idea as to what Ryan was asking.

Page 28

Looking out into the pasture, Ryan saw a small horse ... just his size. Then he heard Nana call out: "Ryan, where are you going?"

Ryan shouted back, "I'm going to ride this horse around and look for Farmer Sam's hat."

"Be careful, Ryan," Papa warned.

Page 31

Riding the pony, Ryan thought, "This is like being a cowboy - barnyard detective ... Detective Ryan Baker."

Ryan saw the tractor which Farmer Sam had been driving. He thought that maybe Farmer Sam had left his hat there. But, it was nowhere to be found.

A noisy crow flew overhead and circled Ryan. "Caw ... caw ... caw," it screeched. To Ryan it sounded like the pesky crow was laughing at him.

Page 32

Just then, Farmer Sam's dog began barking and looking up at the noisy crow.

As the dog ran, following the flight of the crow, Ryan's pony trotted in the same direction.

Page 35

As Ryan, up on the pony, and Farmer Sam's dog chased the crow, they saw it land on the head of the scarecrow. And, beneath the crow, resting upon the scarecrow's head was a hat ... a straw hat ... Farmer Sam's hat! It was obvious to Sam that the crow was the barnyard thief.

In the distance, Ryan could hear the voices of Farmer Sam, Nana and Papa.

Page 36

When Farmer Sam arrived on the scene, he said, "Ryan, that's my hat! You're quite a detective, Ryan Baker!"

Ryan smiled. He patted the pony and winked at the dog ... his detective partners.

The barnyard mystery had been solved.