Read Little Joe for Free Online Page A

his nose, but he was pinned underneath the haircutting cape.
    “What for?” Ma asked. She stopped clipping for a second.
    “’Cause it stinks.” Eli caught another whiff. He thoughtabout the forgotten cantaloupes going rotten in Grandpa’s garden last summer.
    “It’s part of Easter, Eli,” Ma said. She stuck a finger in the planter, making the purple tinfoil crinkle.
    “Just like Easter bunnies.” Hannah grinned. She combed the white fur rounding Sleepy’s back while the bunny nibbled on a carrot top.
    “Hold still,” Ma told Eli. Her eyes darted from Eli’s bangs to the scissors.
    “Colored eggs are part of Easter, too,” Hannah said. “Ma, you promised we’d color eggs tonight and now you’re cutting Eli’s hair.”
    “Well, I didn’t know about the honor roll pictures until tonight. There’ll be plenty of time to color eggs tomorrow. Eli has to get a haircut.”
    “No, I don’t.” Eli squeezed his eyes shut as Ma squirted water on his bangs.
    “Yes, you do.” Ma gripped Eli’s shoulders. “I can’t have you looking shaggy in the picture. The whole town knows I cut hair.”
    “Not the shoulders, Ma!” Eli flinched. “They’re sore, too.”
    “You don’t get it halter-broke the first time.” Pa’s voice came out of nowhere.
    Eli bolted upright, nearly catching Ma’s scissors andanother cut. He’d barely noticed Pa reading
Lancaster Farming
by the pellet stove.
    “The animal’s just not that smart,” Pa added.
    “Little Joe’s plenty smart,” Hannah shouted. “How would
you
like a rope around your head?”
    “Hush, Hannah,” Ma whispered. “Don’t be smarting off to your pa.”
    “Well, it’s true.” Hannah kissed Sleepy’s ears.
    For once Eli agreed with Hannah. He wouldn’t want that rope halter around his face. He knew how it felt just holding it with his hand—tore off a chunk of skin nearly an inch deep.
    “We ain’t cows.” Pa stretched the words out slowly. “Born better than that.”
    Pa spit out the last part strong as a fist.
    “Little Joe was just actin’ out,” Eli said softly. “It wasn’t his fault.”
    “Treat them all neighborly and you’re asking for trouble.” Pa clenched his paper and exhaled. “Next thing you know, we’ll be having a picnic in the pastures with them cows. And living off potato salad instead of beef.”
    “I could live off potato salad,” Hannah said.
    “Put the beef industry out of business,” Pa complained.
    “Chet, did you notice the price of eggs in thesupermarket lately?” Ma asked. “The fancy ones?” Ma was good at turning the subject over.
    Pa grumbled, refusing to look up from the paper. All Eli caught was Pa’s hand reaching for his cup of coffee.
    “They call them free-range,” Ma said, tilting Eli’s head with a finger. “Which just means their chickens wander the fields like ours do.”
    Pa turned the page and buried his face deeper into
Lancaster Farming
.
    “They get nearly two dollars more a dozen. It’s something to think about, Chet. We used to have a sign out on the lawn saying BROWN EGGS FOR— ”
    “We. Don’t. Sell. Eggs.” Pa made a rustling noise with the newspaper before he let go. He went over to the coffeemaker and poured himself another cup of black coffee.
    “Tess is coming over,” Hannah announced.
    Eli’s chest froze.
    “To teach me how to mane-braid like they do at the horse shows.”
    “Did you hear that, Chet?” Ma took the neck brush to Eli’s ears, tickling the stray hairs away. “I bet Tess’ll bring you some real milk.”
    Tess’ll be getting her honor roll picture taken, too
, Eli thought.
In the fifth-grade class
.
    Sometimes Eli got off the school bus with Tess, saying he’d rather walk the rest of the mile home. Then he’d lieon his back in the meadow nearby, knee-deep in clover. Eli waited for the thundering of hooves and Tess nickering to get her Appaloosa to jump. He’d only look up when he heard a pause in the ring below—right when they’d