The farmyard gleamed in the morning sun. Purple beans grew along the garden fence. One had a crooked smile drawn on it in pencil.
The little chicken spotted it and pecked it up whole. A giggle escaped. Then another. Then he clapped his wings and spun around.
He tried to stop. He stuffed straw in his beak and hid under the hay bale. But the straw tickled his nose and he sneezed — right out the giggles.
He splashed into the water trough and bobbed like a cork. Still giggling. Every trick only made the giggles bounce higher.
Biddy the duck waddled over. She saw Peck wobbling and let out a quack-laugh. Old Tom the rooster puffed his chest and honked a laugh so loud a butterfly landed on his comb.
Soon the whole farmyard was at it. Biddy rolled in the dust. Tom flapped and squawked. Even the shy goat snorted with laughter.
They laughed until their bellies ached and their feathers ruffled. The sun dipped low and warm over the fence.
The farmyard settled at last. Peck nestled down, still tingling with the last giggles.
But then — a tiny bean under the fence post. He showed it to Biddy and Tom. All three pecked at it together.
They burst into fresh giggles. Biddy quacked. Tom honked. The shy goat snorted from the corner.
The golden light pooled around them on the warm earth. Three happy shapes in the fading sun.
And somewhere under the fence, another bean waited with a crooked smile.