Great challenge to write our day as a children’s book from Lauren Furgason… Clearly, Blair and I had fun with this on our long drive through the Tamil Nadu countryside today… Much more to come (and illustrations my be in order!)

Send us to the looney bin or send us a book deal… Enjoy!

—

Once upon a time, there were two hard working little goats, named Beatrix and Bernadette. They lived on a busy goat farm where every goat tried to work harder, faster and better than the next. Beatrix and Bernadette were happy goats, but often worried that the goat milk they produced wasn’t as good as that of the other goats. They heard tales of goat friends being bestowed with magical powers, and the ability to turn their goat milk into new things, like rainbow cheese and spicy caramels.

“The secret to magic goat milk,” their friend Henrietta told them, “is to travel to a far away land where they give you a secret recipe that will make your goat milk magical.”

Beatrix and Bernadette were intrigued and started looking into these magical lands, and into all of the goat farms that were famed to have the best secret recipes. They all asked the goats who lived there to do things that Beatrix and Bernadette couldn’t even imagine. Standing on one’s horns for a day? Only consuming magical water for 30 days? No baa-ing for a year? Sitting quietly on one’s hoofs every day? Contorting their bodies into gravity-defying goat-ga poses? But they were determined and prepared for what may come.

After days of travel, they arrived in a magical foreign land with all sorts of new types of goats that they’d never seen before. They met two fashionable goats who specialized in making goat-ure clothing for the richest and fanciest goats in the land. Beatrix and Bernadette told the diamond and silk clothed goats of their plans.

“What is so wrong with your goat milk that you would have to go to a goat farm like that?” asked Raja, stomping his diamond encrusted hoof. “You are just fine. Come to my goat spa instead and you can practice all the goat-ga you please.”

Beatrix and Bernadette were determined, remembering the magical tales of other goats in their homeland, bade the goat-ure designers farewell and continued on their journey. They arrived finally at the magical goat farm.

But it wasn’t as magical as they had hoped. They were surrounded by happy goats, but happy goats that didn’t stop to baa at the lost-looking Beatrix and Bernadette. Finally, they managed to stop one goat and asked him how he got to this magical land. “Ha!” he replied. “That was 20 years ago… I don’t even know… but I’m here and I like it. Good luck to you.”

Dejected, the two goats continued on their mission and after hours of walking the farm, found a friendly old goat who sat with them, fed them a strange new detoxifying grass that tasted like mud, and explained how they could create magical milk. “Here’s what you have to do: you must stay here for 25 years, just here with us goats. You can go back to your homeland but you’ll soon lose your magical powers, despite what your friend tells you. You must eat special types of goat grass, follow the exercises and routines we have created… And, last but not least, no goat-ure. Think about it, and tell me of your decision. Then, we will officially let you into our magical goat farm.”

This seemed a tall order for two young goats in search of magical milk. They wanted what was promised at the magical goat farm, but didn’t want to leave their families for such a long time. There had to be a better way, they thought, so they continued to wander the new lands. They came to a beach one early morning, where they basked in the early morning sunlight. It was not the prettiest beach, littered with leftovers from other goats, and home to wandering goats who slept in the dunes. Nevertheless, Beatrix and Bernadette sat together in the sun, watched the world in front of them and even did some goat-ga. As they practiced some of the magical tools that their friend Henrietta had mentioned, and that the old goat from the magical farm talked about, they started to feel different. As they looked up at the sun, and out at the waves, something began to happen.

“Beatrix, something is very strange… I feel like I’m glowing… And your spots are starting to look pink!” Bernadette asked, scratching her ear with her hoof. Sure enough, the goats were changing colors, glowing and sparkling just a little. Once they were sure that the goat elder’s special goat grass had not altered their vision, Beatrix and Bernadette started to admire their glowing, colorful hides.

Day after day, the goats sat in the sun and admired its warmth and light. They practiced their magical tools in different farms around this strange new land. Their colors got richer, the glow became brighter and their goat milk began to turn into magical new flavors and textures.

“Are we magical now?! How could this have happened…we didn’t even stay at the magical goat farm for more than a day?” Beatrix asked.

Confused and technicolored, they returned to see Raja and told him of their story. “See, I told you that you didn’t need to go to some magical goat farm. The magic powers were inside you all this time… You just needed to see that and to use them, instead of ignore them. You can use them anywhere and find them anywhere… Not just on a magical farm.”

Gleeful, Beatrix and Bernadette continued to roam all the lands, practicing their magical tools and admiring the beauty of wherever they were. And as they traveled, they learned new tools from many different goats, goats they wouldn’t expect to teach them, goats who just crossed their paths and smiled, even from wandering goats, like those they met on their morning at the beach.

“The magic really is everywhere,” they exclaimed. “We just had to see it… And use it!”