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Annie’s Story: Happy Shirt Discovers a New Baby in the Family August 31, 2006

Editor’s Note: It’s time to share the sixth in the series of children’s stories about 100% Happy Shirt. Enjoy! 

 

Special Note to Educators: Reprint rights granted with author attribution given

 

Sixth in the series of 100% Happy Shirt Children’s Stories by Pennee Murphree. First in the series here. Second here. Third here. Fourth here. Fifth here.

 

By Pennee Murphree

Happy Shirt was surprised. Happy Shirt had never been surprised before. He had been cool. He had been comfortable. He had been soft. He had been sad. He had been concerned. He had been disappointed. He had been impatient. He had even been mad before.

 

Happy Shirt had always been happy because he had such special friends. They had played and learned about cotton at school. They had played in the cotton on Papa and Da’s farm. They had played in town and they had even gone to Kansas. Always something new and fun was happening at their house.

 

But Happy Shirt was surprised to learn of a new little friend he would be playing with now. She did not live at his home. She did not live on the farm. She did not live in Kansas. She lived with her Momma and Daddy in Chandler, another Arizona cotton town and her name was Joanna Mae Murphree, but everyone called her Annie.

 

Actually she was not just a new friend. She was a new cousin. She would be big enough someday to play with Kyle and McKenzie and Delaney and Cayden and Happy Shirt. And Happy Shirt also knew that soon Annie would be big enough to wear Happy Shirt, too.

 

Another surprise he had this year was to learn that there were a lot of 100% Happy Shirt’s out there in the big wide world. That was because cotton is so popular and everybody wanted a cotton shirt. Annie even had lots of little tiny cotton Happy Shirts made of cotton, but he knew that he was the original Happy Shirt.

 

Happy Shirt could not wait to meet Annie and tell her all about cotton and the farm. He especially liked the tractors and the cotton pickers. Papa and had planted and cultivated and watered and sprayed and picked and sold cotton for a long, long time but they were going to retire so a most difficult decision was made to sell the farm.

 

Sometimes Papa dreamed and said that if cotton prices ever got better he might buy another farm. That surprised Happy Shirt. That surprised Da, too.

 

Happy Shirt also was surprised to hear that Papa and Da were moving to town very close to Annie and her Momma and Daddy, Jennifer and Curt. They would be close to Kyle, McKenzie, Delaney, Cayden and their Momma and Daddy, Julie and Patrick, too. And close to Great Grandma Howard, Aunt Julie and Aunt Sandy. Da thought that was wonderful.

 

Happy Shirt, Papa and Da and everybody else in the family would be very sad at times because they were selling the farm. Da would always say, “Well, we have a wonderful family and much to be thankful for, even new baby Annie. The Lord has blessed us.”

 

Papa would still raise cotton for some of the cotton seed companies, but he would have to drive his pick-up truck back and forth to the farm every day. Annie and Kyle and McKenzie and Delaney and Cayden would go with him any time they wanted. They could have picnics on the farm and play in the cotton and see the tractors. Uncle Brent would still be living close to the farm and they could visit him too.

 

Nobody in the family would ever forget the farm and the wonderful life they had there. They would be sure to teach little Annie all about the farm and her heritage as she grew up.

 

Happy Shirt’s family was very special to him. He was extremely happy because he knew that Annie was the best new surprise.

 

Happy Shirt was surprised and a very happy little 100% Cotton T-shirt.

 annie.jpgAnnie wearing cotton.

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