Well-behaved girls were fun to watch

I have never seen such well-behaved children. The two little girls arrived at the annual cookout with their grandparents. They arranged the chairs and sat down. That was my first hint that these were no ordinary children. My own grandchildren rarely sit down.
As other guests arrived the girls were quiet. I wondered if they were real or just beautiful dolls. When I saw one using her grandfather as a track for a truck she had found, I decided they were just shy.
Spouses and people we rarely see were introduced. One of the club members arrived with his young son in tow. A prayer was said and we all caught up over dinner. Afterwards, all three children were led inside and shown the toy box. We didn’t see them again until the boy’s father was ready to leave.
The newlyweds in attendance decided to check out the barn and animals. I wondered if that was wise as one was wearing sandals but she was fine. They were still in the barn when it was decided that we should feed the horses.
Most of the women trooped along behind the children’s aunt on the way to the barn. As soon as the two horses saw the bag of carrots they came ambling up. The children clung to their grandmother, clearly fascinated but apprehensive. They refused all offers of carrots. The rest of us held the treats out and the equines pressed ever closer to delicately pick the veggies from our palms.
One woman tried to take a selfie but the horse wanted to be the only one in the picture and kept nudging her out of the way. Someone else ended up taking the photograph. The girls never did work up enough courage to touch the velvety noses of the animals that loomed over them.
When we ran out of carrots and turned around, I was surprised to see one of the newlyweds holding a chicken. The chicken seemed perfectly happy to be held. It had escaped its pen. The owner was glad it had been caught and took the opportunity to clip its wings.
We toured a mini garden of peppers, tomatoes and onions. It looked a lot better than my own garden. Then again, my garden is now under a tree that I neglected to pull up when it was little. That is my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
We then visited the chicken coop. A chicken was caught and held out for the girls to touch. They shrank back against their grandmother. The chicken was very calm as the guy holding it turned it this way and that. The girls’ aunt ruffled its feathers and the older child finally reached out and touched it. She said it was soft and petted its back. Not to be left out, the younger one also touched the bird and petted its neck with the tips of her fingers. I could see their bravery growing.
The fowl was put back in the pen and the other birds were checked to make sure they all had clipped wings. They were fed and we went to the next pen.
This one held rescued pheasants. These were too flighty to be held and were admired from afar.
When we rejoined the others, the girls picked up another brownie. My husband said they ended up eating four apiece. As the treats were small, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Throughout the entire evening, the children were well-behaved and quiet.
I wonder what it takes to raise such well-behaved children. My grandkids would have been on top of the horses, in the chicken pen and much, much rowdier than those little girls. Then again, when they are in an unfamiliar situation they do tend to calm down a bit. I’m sure those girls will have a lot to talk about when they get home. And I have a memory of a perfect evening with good friends and two darling little girls.