Kids zone

Tell me a story

THE MARE'S EGG (a Canadian tale)

adapted by Amy Friedman and illustrated by Jillian Gilliland



Once upon a time, but not so long ago that nobody remembers, a man named Clark McDonald lived with his family in the city. But Clark yearned for wide open spaces, livestock, the smell of autumn wheat and life in the countryside.

One day as he was traveling home along the sweeping St. Lawrence River, he happened to pass a farmhouse for sale. On a whim Clark decided to buy it, and then he hurried home and told his wife.

Carolyn McDonald worried the move might be too big, but she loved her husband. Besides, she was a hearty, adventurous soul. "It'll be fun!" she said.

"The yard has apple trees," Clark told her, and Carolyn beamed. "I'll bake apple pies!"

And so they packed up all their belongings and their two children, Max and Michelle, and the family set off for the little town at the edge of the river.

On the second day as they were u...