Excerpt, Chapter 1 - Poopballs Over The Shanty

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It was cold outside with lots of snow on the ground. We put our mitts and boots and coats on and Mum took us out for a walk.

She walked with us down to the shanty. It was a tiny barn that had fallen down.

“It’s dangerous” she said.

“Why?” Mike asked.

“If you climb on it it might fall down some more and hurt you” she said.

“OK” we said.

Then we noticed some piles of old brown balls near the shanty.

“What are those?” I asked.

“That’s horse manure” Mum said.

“What’s manure?” Mike asked.

“It’s what comes out of a horse after he’s eaten grass” Mum told us.

“Poop?” Mike asked.

“Yes” Mum replied.

I walked over and kicked it. It was hard. I bent to sniff it. It didn’t smell. 

“Don’t do that Davey” Mum said.

“Why?”  I asked.

“Just leave the poop where it is” she answered. “It’s frozen anyway. Not good for much.

Mike noticed another ball of horse poop that had smoke coming from it. 

“Why is that one smoking?” he asked.

“It’s fresh. Still warm. It’s steam, not smoke. It’s a steamer” Mum told us.

“Yuk. A steamer” we repeated. I didn’t kick it. It looked soft. It was stinky.

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