Mark Teague - How I Spent My Summer Vacation

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF Copyright 1995 by Mark Teague
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House LLC, New York, a Penguin Random House Company. Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, LLC. cm.
Summary: A schoolboy tells his class about his summer vacation, during which he joined a group of cowboys and stopped a cattle stampede.
ISBN 978-0-517-59998-3 (trade) ISBN 978-0-517-59999-0 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-517-88556-7 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-307-79248-8 (ebook)
[1. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-517-88556-7 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-307-79248-8 (ebook)
[1.

CowboysFiction. 2. West (U.S.)Fiction. 3. Stories in rhyme.] I. v3.1 For Rebecca and Jerry and Mark

W hen summer began, I headed out west. v3.1 For Rebecca and Jerry and Mark W hen summer began, I headed out west.

My parents had told me I needed a rest. Your imagination, they said, is getting too wild. It will do you some good to relax for a while. So they put me aboard a westbound train To visit Aunt Fern in her house on the plains. But I was captured by cowboys, A wild-looking crowd. Im trying to get to my aunts house, I said. Im trying to get to my aunts house, I said.

But they carried me off to their cow camp instead. The Cattle Boss growled, as he told me to sit, We need a new cowboy. Our old cowboy quit. We could sure use your help. So what do you say? I thought for a minute, then I told him, Okay. Then I wrote to Aunt Fern, so shed know where Id gone.

I said not to worry, I wouldnt be long. That night I was given a new set of clothes. Soon I looked like a wrangler from my head to my toes. But theres more to a cowboy than boots and a hat, I found out the next day And the day after that. Each day I discovered some new cowboy tricks. Slowly the word spread all over the land: That wrangler Kid Bleff is a first-rate cowhand! The day finally came when the roundup was through. Slowly the word spread all over the land: That wrangler Kid Bleff is a first-rate cowhand! The day finally came when the roundup was through.

Aunt Fern called: Come on over. Bring your cowboys with you. She was cooking a barbecue that very same day. So we cleaned up (a little) and we headed her way. The food was delicious. There was plenty to eat.

And the band that was playing just couldnt be beat. But suddenly I noticed a terrible sight. The cattle were stirring and stamping with fright. Its a scene Ill remember till my very last day. Theyre gonna stampede! I heard somebody say. Just then they came charging.

They charged right at me! I looked for a hiding place A rock, or a tree. What I found was a tablecloth spread out on the ground. So I turned like a matador And spun it around. It was a new kind of cowboying, a fantastic display! The cattle were frightened and stampeded away!