Page 1 "Good morning! I know it''s early, but I couldn''t wait to meet you!" Max shouted. Page 2 "Good, good morning? Who are you? Why are you in my barn?" mumbled Jolly. Page 3 "I am Max! I am the friendliest animal on the farm! You can consider me your new best friend!" said Max with a grin. Page 4 "Not gonna happen," said Jolly. "For starters, you get up way too early. But most importantly, you are a dog, and I am a cow. Cows have cow friends. You need to find dog friends.
Please leave so I can go back to sleep." Page 5 Just as Max was starting to explain what a great friend he is, Jolly heard the worst sound she''d ever heard! "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Page 6 "What is that awful noise?" asked Jolly. "That''s Rusty! Isn''t he wonderful? He wakes us up every morning just as the sun comes up so we don''t miss a second of another beautiful day!" Max cheered as he jumped into the air. Page 7 "No, he''s not wonderful. He is loud. This is terrible. I think I might be at the wrong farm. This is my first day here.
I was told I was moving to a very special farm and would have lots of friends. I haven''t seen one other cow!" Jolly looked worried and a little angry. Page 8 "Just wait until you get to know Rusty. He''s a great friend, you''ll see. And don''t you worry. This is a very special educational farm with all different types of animals. We have the best farmers. People come visit us, and the farmers tell them how important it is to be kind to animals and how wonderful it is that we all get to live here together.
" "C''mon, I''ll introduce you to everyone," Max said happily. Page 9 "Look, whatever your name is, we are not the same. I just want to be with cows doing cow things. I''m not a teacher or a friend to a dog. And I am not interested in meeting any other animals," said Jolly as she stood up. Page 10 Max could not be deterred. He knew how special this farm was and that each animal was special in its own way. Max was sure Jolly was going to enjoy living here, if she would just give it a chance.
"I am going to the pond to get a drink," said Jolly. "Great!" said Max. "Me too!" Page 11 "Um, Max, I don''t need you to come with me. Why don''t you go visit your friends? If you see any cows, you can send them my way," said Jolly. Page 12 "We will see plenty of friends on the way to the pond!" Max said confidently. Jolly thought Max would never get the hint that she didn''t want to be his friend. She thought if she just didn''t talk to him, he would eventually go away.Just when Max was finally quiet for a minute, two cats came running by.
"What in the world?" Jolly was surprised. Page 13 "Woooo-hooooo! That''s Phil and Mabel! Aren''t they cool? They can run so fast." Max sounded impressed. "No, that is not cool," said Jolly. "What''s the hurry? They need to slow it down a bit. Cows like to walk slowly . What are they doing now? Climbing a tree? That is just ridiculous. There is no reason to climb trees.
" Jolly was flustered. Page 14 Max explained, "It''s fun for cats to run and climb trees. I love to run too. I can''t climb a tree, but I know they like to climb, so it makes me happy to see them having so much fun. We all have different abilities. There''s nothing wrong with that." Page 15 When they got to the pond, several other animals were gathering around for their morning drink "Seriously, why is everyone so different here? Look at those things. What is wrong with them?" Jolly asked, looking around.
"Those are ducks, and there isn''t anything wrong with them. They are just different, and we celebrate differences here," Max said. "Momma duck is teaching her babies to swim. I can swim a little bit, but not like that. Watch them put their whole heads under water to catch bugs and eat them! That''s awesome!" Page 16 "I think that is gross," said Jolly. Max replied, "It''s super helpful because there are fewer bugs that sometimes bite cows and dogs. The farmers are always saying that each animal is different but not less! That means we all get to be who we are, and none of us is more or less important than anyone else! It''s the same for people. Animals and people are of all different sizes, shapes, and abilities, and they are all different, not less!" Page 17 "Sometimes our differences help others.
Look at those sheep! Instead of hair, they have wool, and guess what? When it gets hot, they let the farmers shave them, and people use their wool to make clothes that keep them warm. It''s good for people and the sheep because too much wool would be too heavy for the sheep. Isn''t that amazing?" "I guess that is pretty cool," said Jolly. Page 18 Just then, Jolly heard it, the sound she had been hoping to hear."Mooooo!" "Cows!" shouted Jolly. "I am so happy to see you," said Jolly as she walked up to the other cows. "Please tell this dog that cows are friends with cows and he can stop following me around." The cows looked surprised.
"Max? He''s our best friend!" one of them said. "Yes, he''s the best," said another cow. "He spreads kindness everywhere he goes, and people love him!" Page 19 "That''s so weird," said Jolly. "Where I come from, cows are friends with cows. All my friends were just like me." One of the cows stepped up and explained to Jolly that everyone being the same can be incredibly boring. "It''s so fun to meet others with different abilities and interests. At this farm, everyone gets to be exactly who they are, and we celebrate each other''s differences and help each other every way that we can.
" Page 20 Jolly started to smile and said, "Maybe you''re right. I can''t deny that Max has been very nice to me, and he''s good at noticing the best things about others. I guess even we cows aren''t exactly alike. I have long hair, and you have short hair, and we''re all different colors." Just then a couple of donkeys came trotting up to her. "Hey, Max, who''s your new friend?" "This is Jolly! Isn''t she the perfect addition to our family?" Max said "I''d say so," said Dolly. "She is stunning! That hair is fabulous!" "Hi, Jolly. I''m Hank.
This is my sister, Dolly. We''re the donkeys on this farm. We like to take care of everyone. Every evening, we make sure all the animals are tucked into the barns so they can sleep safely." Page 22 Dolly said, "That''s right. We won''t let you stay up pasture bedtime!" "Heehaw haw haw ho! Oh, ha ha hee haw ha! Good one, Dolly," laughed Hank. "She''s clearly the funny one," Hank said with a smirk. "Do you get it? Past-ure bedtime, and we live on a pasture.
She keeps us laughing!" said Max. "Yeah, I get it," said Jolly, cracking a smile. "It was a pretty bad joke, but I think I like you guys." Page 23 "Oh my goodness, what is that smell?" Jolly started looking around and spotted a huge mud pit with two pigs, wallowing, wiggling, and jumping in the mud. "Why are they doing that?" asked Jolly. Page 24 "Ha, ha! It keeps them cool, and look how much fun they are having! It makes me smile to see them so happy. I know, I know, cows don''t do that, so it''s weird . and different," Max was saying.
Jolly interrupted, "No, not at all. It certainly is different, but who am I to tell a pig how to have fun? I''m a cow, so I don''t have to understand pig things. But I can still be happy for them because they do indeed look very happy! Good for them!" Page 25 "You know, Max, everyone can be friends, no matter how different they are. Sheep have different hair. Cats run so fast and climb trees for fun. Donkeys can be loud and silly. We are all different. That''s the best thing about living here.
We can be Different Together! My new best friend taught me that!" smiled Jolly. Page 26 Max laughed. "You''re right, Jolly. When you are happy with who you are, you can encourage and celebrate others as they do what they are good at and enjoy. That''s what best friends do!" Page 27 That evening, all the animals decided to have a sleepover party in Jolly''s barn. They talked, laughed, and appreciated learning about each other''s differences. Jolly said it was the happiest night of her life, and they all drifted off to sleep. Page 28 The next morning, Jolly was the first one awake.
She walked outside to see the sunrise at her beautiful new home. Max came out right behind her. Right on cue, "Cock-a-doodle-doooo!" Rusty proudly crowed. Jolly said, "You''re right, Max. That is a wonderful sound! I will look forward to it every morning because I don''t want to miss a second of spending time with my friends on this beautiful farm!" Acknowledgment Dr. Temple Grandin and her mom, Eustacia Cutler, first coined the phrase, "Different, not less." Temple did not speak until she was four years old. She was diagnosed as brain damaged in the late 1940s because many physicians had not heard of autism at that time.
She received her accurate diagnosis of autism in the early 1950s. At that time, most children given that diagnosis were sent to live in a psychiatric facility. Temple''s mom believed in her and could see that she was very smart. She, now famously, convinced a school that Temple was different but not less. Temple''s mom was right! Temple is incredibly smart! Not only did she graduate from high school, but she went on to earn her PhD in animal science. She designed cattle chutes that ensure cattle are treated humanely, and her chute designs are now used all over the world! She is a professor of animal science at Colorado S.