Polo the Goat

"Mom, I'm going to tell you a story," said Ian as we started our walk.

This ought to be good, I thought. The tale that follows is more or less what came out of Ian's mouth as we walked from our apartment to his school, crossing the park which was littered with leaves, and bundled against an uncomfortable pre-winter breeze. Mom edited (only slightly) for some continuity in the story, but it's basically his.

Polo the Goat
by Ian
Polo the Goat lived in Manhattan with his brother, his sister and his baby. He also had a Mommy and a Papa. They lived in a big, green house that was next door to a church.

Polo had a bedroom that he shared with his brother and his sister. They slept in a bunk bed that had three beds on top of each other. It was a three bed bunk bed. Polo didn't jump on it [Ed. note: No, I'm sure he didn't]. Polo's baby slept in the bedroom with Mommy and Papa.

Polo was six years old. His brother was five and his sister was four. [Ed. Note: Boy, that Mommy goat was awfully busy.] Polo never hit them, he was always nice. Also, Polo never cried because he was already six.

Polo went to a big boy school and liked all his friends and liked everything he did in school. When he wasn't in school, Polo liked to go swimming. He didn't need to take swimming lessons because he was a very good swimmer. He didn't need any help.

Other times, because Manhattan was next to Spain, Polo went to Spain. He walked first to his car, then drove his car to the airport, then got in a plane, then flew to Spain. He liked to be in Spain with the other goats there. Polo had a goat family in Spain that he liked to visit.

One day, Polo would be 38 years old like his Mommy Goat, but for now he's going to finish being six, because 38 is too old for a goat.

[Editor's Note: Before agreeing to publish the above, the Editor checked for "Polo the Goat" on Google and Amazon. She wondered if there were any stories about Polo already. It appears not (though if you find some, please let the Editor know). The search, however, did lead the Editor to information about an ancient Asian sport, still played in Afghanistan, called Dead Goat Polo, in which the game is played with a headless dead goat instead of a ball. The Editor is not making this up. (Thanks, Dave Barry.)]