April Adventure (5 page)

“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 into
a 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 hoping
your 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 Pal
headed 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 backed away. Never taking her eyes off the
humans, she waded into the pond. She joined her mate and glared at the intruders.

With the mother swan out of the nest, everyone could see the golden Easter eggs.

Mr. Neater removed the eggs and handed them to the four kids.

Suddenly the mother swan streaked over toward the kids, hissing and snapping her beak. Luke and Tom waved their arms, and she went back to the pond. But she did not look happy.

“It’s okay, Momma Swan,” Mr. Neater said. “Pretty soon, you’ll have babies to keep you busy!”

“Ready to get wet?” Tom asked Luke and Mr. Neater. He kicked off his sneakers.

“How deep is the water?” Mr. Neater asked. He was pulling off his shoes and socks.

“Not very,” Luke said, removing his sneakers. “I helped clean up some litter last year. I only got wet up to my knees.”

“Can we help?” Bradley asked.

“Absolutely,” Tom said. “After all, this was your idea! But first, this.”

Very gently, Tom took the two real swan eggs out of his sweatshirt pouch. He laid them in the center of the swans’ nest.

“Now let’s gather around the nest,” Tom said. “All seven of us will lift it together and place it inside the kiddie pool.”

“Careful not to let the nest break apart,” Mr. Neater said.

On a count of three, they picked up the nest and set it into the plastic pool.

“Great!” Tom said. “Now Mr. Neater, Luke, and I will float it out to the island. I think the water is too deep for you kids.”

The three adults waded into the water. They floated the kiddie pool—with the swan nest inside—between them. The two swans hissed and flapped their wings. They followed the group to the island.

Bradley, Brian, Lucy, and Nate watched them lift the nest out and set it on the island rocks. Then the three adults came back with the kiddie pool.

“This should be interesting,” Tom said. He sat on the shore. “Let’s watch and see what they do.”

The two swans swam up to the little island. They stretched their long necks and looked inside their nest. Then they both began grunting.

“They’ve seen the eggs!” Bradley said.

It took just a few seconds for the mother swan to sit on the eggs. Her mate stayed near the nest.

“I think the problem has been solved,” Mr. Neater said. He grinned at the kids. “That was a great idea!”

“So now the raccoons and snakes won’t be able to get their eggs, right?” Nate said.

“That’s right,” Tom said. “Where the nest was before, any creature could sneak up and steal the eggs while Momma Swan was off the nest. But now, if a raccoon or snake swims to the island, the swans would see it coming and fight it off.”

“And trust me,” Luke said, “swans are excellent fighters!”

They all sat on the bank and watched the swans for a while.

“I can’t wait to see the babies,” Lucy said.

“Come back in about two weeks,” Tom said. “Baby swans are called cygnets, and they’re real cute!”

After a while, Bradley stood up. “Well, we have our golden eggs,” he said. “Let’s go home and get our treasure!”

The kids thanked Mr. Neater, Tom, and Luke. Then they headed across the park toward Bradley and Brian’s house.

Five minutes later, the four kids and Pal burst into the kitchen. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were at the table, playing Monopoly.

“We got them!” Bradley announced.

They each placed one golden egg on the table.

“Yeah, now we want the treasure!” Nate said. “And I hope it’s not Monopoly money!”

“It’s not money at all,” Josh said. He walked over to the refrigerator.

“See, I told you, it’s food!” Bradley said.

“Good, because I’m starving!” Brian said.

Josh opened the fridge and pulled out four tall chocolate Easter bunnies.

“Awesome!” Nate said. Right away he broke off a chocolate ear and began chewing.

“So, where did you guys find the golden eggs?” Dink asked.

“It’s a long story,” Bradley said.

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose just looked at him.

“So, we’re waiting!” Ruth Rose said.

“We fought off a giant snake!” Nate said.

“And a pack of hungry raccoons!” Brian added.

“And we had to swim in the pond!” Lucy put in.

The three older kids stared.

“Is this all true?” Josh asked.

Bradley licked his chocolate bunny. “Of course it’s true,” he said. “Would we tell a lie the day before Easter?”