A pattern that is visible throughout the stories on this page is that animals are involved in a lot of them. For kids, it is often easier to follow a story when it is told by their favorite, cute animal. The following story works in the same way and teaches kids about prejudice in an amusing way!
Author
Artie Knapp was born in 1973 in Chillicothe, Ohio and now lives in Cincinnati with his wife and daughter. He graduated from the University of Ohio and later became a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Artie Knapp is the author of over 40 published pieces including books, videos and so on. His work is very famous in Asia and his course books are used in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai etc. In addition, he has won numerous prizes for his kids stories.
Summary
The story “The Lazy Loppin’ Goat is about Alfred Lambert and his garden. The grass he had planted in his backyard is growing and growing and Alfred can’t seem to find a lawnmower that is working. He kept going back to the store to buy a new one in hopes of finally being able to cut his grass. Soon, the neighbourhood started talking badly about his garden and how it ruined the image of the street. But after some time, his yard actually became very well known as the tallest thing in town and the mayor even declared it a landmark. Shortly before giving up Alfred suddenly heard the call of a goat and thought of a great idea, since goats love grass. He made his way through his garden and to the farm of the Cline family who had a lot of animals, including a little goat. When Alfred asked the family about his plans they all started laughing and Mr. Cline said he would give him the goat for free since she is very lazy. As Alfred made his way towards the goat the other animals couldn’t stop laughing and kept making fun of the goat. He talked to the goat, whose name is Irene, and then they made their way back to Alfred’s house. Once they got there, Alfred explained that he needs her help to remove the grass but she protested and told him that she has a grass allergy. Alfred got mad because he thought she was lying and when she bit into the grass to prove it, she turned green and purple. Alfred felt bad and realized that the goat isn’t actually lazy and just has an unfortunate allergy. The little goat promised that she would help him mow his garden in return for two things. First, Lima beans to eat and secondly, gas for the lawnmower to work.
For the original story, click here! https://www.storyberries.com/bedtime-stories-the-lazy-loppin-goat-short-stories-for-kids/
While “The Lazy Loppin’ Goat” is a very funny story about Alfred and his struggle to mow his grass, it is also about the little goat and how she is mistreated on the farm of the Cline Family. Without knowing about her allergy, they put her off as lazy and even the other animals treat her with disrespect. I hope you could learn something from this message!
