splitting the herd
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Ages 5-8
Reinforced binding
Miss Emma’s cows just can’t stay put!
Each time they wander into Cowboy Kirby’s
yard, he uses ODD and EVEN numbers
to count the herd. Then he sends all the
evens back to Emma and keeps the odds
for himself. It’s only fair, he thinks. And,
besides, Emma sure is cute. Kirby doesn’t
notice that his herd keeps getting smaller
while Emma’s grows larger.
Emma is the kind of gal that is good
at math (as well as running a ranch and
baking a cake). Yet she’s tenderhearted and
doesn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings by
explaining his math mistake. How will she
solve their problem with odds and evens?
Count on Emma for coming up with
a surprise ending!
j Millbrook Press
•
Minneapolis
WRITTEN BY TRUDY HARRIS
ILLUSTRATIONS BY RUSSELL JULIAN
To Marie and Christy, our valuable
additions. And to Jean Reynolds,
thank you—T.H.
For Peter and Gabriella Moruzzi—R.J.
Text copyright © 2008 by Trudy Harris
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Russell Julian
All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of
this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written
permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion
of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Millbrook Press
A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
241 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN U.S.A. 55401
Website address: www.lernerbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harris, Trudy.
Splitting the herd : a corral of odds and evens / by Trudy
Harris ; illustrated by Russell Julian.
p. cm.
ISBN 978–0–8225–7466–8 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
1. Counting—Juvenile literature. 2. Numbers, Natural—
Juvenile literature. I. Julian, Russell, ill. II. Title.
QA113.H3695 2008
513—dc22 2007044373
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 – DP – 13 12 11 10 09 08
978-0-7613-4658-6
Miss Emma had a problem
with her cattle on the range.
They were restless, roving critters,
always looking for a change.
They didn’t care for fences,
and a barn was of no use.
Those stubborn, ornery animals
were always getting loose!
3
To complicate the matter,
when the cows began to stray,
they would head to Cowboy Kirby’s yard
and munch on Kirby’s hay.
4
“I saw some sneaky critters
escapin’ from your yard,”
Cowboy Kirby said to Emma.
“But the problem isn’t hard.
“20 cows are in my pasture,
so I’ll tell you what to do:
since every critter looks alike,
we’ll split the herd in two.
5
“Count 1, 2, 3, 4
Keep the cattle in a line.
Even numbers will be yours.
All the odd ones will be mine.
10 apiece should work out fine.”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
6
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
7
That seemed to solve the problem.
Emma took her cows back home.
But next morning, without warning,
2 of them began to roam.
8
“12 cows are in my pasture,”
Cowboy Kirby said to Emma.
“I know exactly what to do
to solve this cow dilemma.
“12 cows are in my pasture,”
Cowboy Kirby said to Emma.
“I know exactly what to do
to deal with this dilemma.”
9
“Count 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .
Keep the cattle in a line.
Even numbers will be yours.
All the odd ones will be mine.
6 apiece should work out fine.”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
10
Kirby looked a little puzzled
as he slowly scratched his head.
“This worked out well the last time.
So this must be right,” he said.
“Well, actually,” said Emma,
“2 cows were on the path . . . ”
“Now, don’t you worry,” Kirby said,
“I’m pretty good at math.”
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
11
“I hate to hurt your feelings,
but I think there’s some mistake,”
Emma smiled and said to Kirby,
“Let’s discuss it over cake.”
12
They discussed the current state of things
in nations far and wide,
discussed the flowers in the spring,
the moon, the stars, the tide.
And when the cake was finished,
they set a date to dine.
They didn’t even mention cows,
so 6, for now, seemed fine.
13
As the rooster crowed next morning,
2 more cows charged through the gate.
They joined the 6 in Kirby’s yard.
That added up to 8.
14
“8 cows are in my pasture.
Here’s what we ought to do.”
Kirby proudly said to Emma,
“Let’s divide them all by two.
15
“Count 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .
Keep the cattle in a line.
Even numbers will be yours.
All the odd ones will be mine.
4 apiece should work out fine.”
1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7, 8
16
As Kirby scratched his forehead,
Emma said, “That’s not quite right.
We can talk about it over cake.
Come join me for a bite.”
1, 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7, 8
17
They read a book by Robert Frost
and marveled at the rhyme
but didn’t even mention cows—
there simply wasn’t time.
18
And when the clock
struck half past nine,
4 cows, for now,
somehow seemed fine.
19
That midnight in the moonlight,
a fateful thing occurred.
2 cunning cows crept through the fence,
deserting Emma’s herd.
20
“6 cows are in my pasture,
I’ve got to mend that fence.
But first,” he said, “let’s split them up,
‘cause that makes perfect sense.
21
“Count 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .
Keep the cattle in a line.
Even numbers will be yours.
All the odd ones will be mine.
3 apiece should work out fine.”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
22
Emma sweetly said to Kirby,
“There’s a point I need to make,”
Kirby grinned and said to Emma,
“Let’s discuss it over cake.”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
23
