I could beat you.
Come on, you wanna try?”
Huh! Lamar could easily beat his sister. She was only a girl, after all, and younger than him by a couple of seasons. But if she were to win – oh, man, he would never hold his neck up high again. Even he had to admit, Latisha was one tough llama. It was possible, in a couple of years, that she might even beat her brothers and, oh, what a terrible day that would be!
No, Lamar couldn’t take that kind of risk. So he pretended he hadn’t heard his sister’s challenge and moved off, looking for a nearby fence post. He rubbed his head against it to clear the spit from his topknot and try to smarten himself up. Lamar might not have beaten Leo today, but he could still be the farmer’s new Guard Llama. After all, size wasn’t everything. He was more athletic than Leo. He had the legs. And looks were important too. Lamar had a much finer profile. Wasn’t that why Mama Llama had given him his second name: Lincoln?
“After the president, Abraham Lincoln,” she told him. “So distinguished.”
Lamar rubbed his topknot until it was standing tall, then he shook it so it fell over his eyes. A pretty cool look, in his opinion. Tomorrow, if he impressed Farmer Palmer, he could still turn out to be the winner.
Lamar trotted down to a corner of the field where his youngest sisters – and some of their attractive friends – hung out. Who cares about Leo? he asked himself, I’m certainly the girls’ favourite.
The young llamas crowded round him, batting their eyelashes and giggling. Lamar gave them a friendly nudge and a wink. Oh, yes, he had a way with females. When I’m Guard Llama, he thought, I’ll have that flock of silly sheep following me around. Just watch me.
“Tchhh,” Latisha tutted to herself and tossed her head. “Honestly!”
What a poser her brother was. And what an idiot. She could have neck-wrestled Lamar to the ground, no problem! Maybe not Leo yet, but give her a year or two... Her brothers didn’t impress her one little bit. But then Latisha had something neither of them had: an active brain.
There was no good reason why she shouldn’t be Farmer Palmer’s Guard Llama. Where did it say it couldn’t be a girl? she’d asked Mama Llama. Life was so unfair.
If Latisha were in charge of the llama world, things would run very differently. She would lay down some rules of her own… No spitting, for a start. It just wasn’t necessary in her view. The way Leo had done it so sneakily too, just when Lamar wasn’t looking.
Instead, there would be properly organised contests, real tests of strength and endurance. After that, the winner would have to take an intelligence test, which would rule out most of her family. Oh, they all liked to think they were clever, but none of them were in Latisha’s league.
But even Latisha had to admit that, compared to sheep, llamas were like the Einsteins of the animal world. In her opinion, sheep were really dumb. D-U-M-B, dumb. Dumb as…
Hmmm, now she thought more about it, Latisha had to ask herself, why? Why would anyone want to leave their own herd, to hang out with those woolly-brained mutts? All alone too! Llamas were social animals. They weren’t meant for a solitary life. No, she didn’t really want the job – she just wanted to beat her brothers!
Latisha looked for a quiet corner to make her plan, where she wouldn’t be distracted by the sight of that big-headed brother, Leo, still puffing himself up and acting like he’d already won. Or that idiot, Lamar, and his even more idiotic fan club.
“Tchhh,” she tutted again. Oh, why couldn’t they all be more like her? Latisha wondered.
Later that evening, when the family gathered together, Mama and Papa Llama nuzzled each other fondly. They congratulated themselves yet again on what a good job they’d done with their children.
Tomorrow was a big day for all of them. Whichever one Farmer Palmer chose – Leo, Lamar, or even Latisha – Mama and Papa Llama would be happy. They were glad to see that, for now at least, the three young llamas appeared to have put aside their quarrels. They were discussing what it might really mean, if they did get chosen.
“It’d mean leaving the family forever,” Lamar pointed out a little nervously.
“Just to babysit a load of brainless sheep,” grumbled Leo.
“Having to fight off any crafty coyotes out there, all on your own!” Latisha added.
But this thought again stirred up her brothers’ competitiveness.
“Pfff,” Leo huffed. “I feel sorry for any coyote crazy enough to come sniffing around my flock of sheep,” he bragged.
“Just one crazy coyote?” Lamar scoffed. “A whole pack of coyotes could attack my flock and they’d still be able to sleep like babies.”
“One llama? Against a whole pack!” said Latisha dismissively. “Tchhh! What planet are you on, brother? You’d need a plan, a strategy and, let’s face it, I’m the only one with the brains to deliver that.”
The llamas were soon bickering again, until their attention was drawn to a small crowd that had gathered round their other brother, Lewie, the next oldest male llama in the family. Lewie was showing off again!
“Oh, boy,” sniffed Leo.
“What an embarrassment,” hissed Lamar.
“Tchhh,” tutted Latisha.
Suddenly, the three were united once more. If there was one thing they could absolutely agree on it was this – tomorrow, when Farmer Palmer came to choose his new Guard Llama, the one he would definitely not be choosing was Loopy Lewie!
“Farmer Palmer!” everyone cried out, easily recognising the farmer’s waddling walk. Next he did the farmer’s kind but fussy wife, with her bobbing head and fast footsteps. Then their cute little daughter, Millie, skipping along, humming to herself... The llamas stamped their feet in appreciation, especially Liberty, Lewie’s twin sister. She was Lewie’s biggest fan.
“OK, who’s this?” Lewie asked, before launching into another instantly recognisable impression. This time he imitated his
