[ WP ] Couple raises group of orphans in a barn , working with goats . Every year the orphans must vote one of their own to move into the house and join the family .

`` So who is going?'' The speaker scratched as the few hairs dappling his chin as he peered among the other boys. 
 
 `` We got rules Jimmy,'' a kid with a crooked nose said from the back. `` No campaignin'. Let the votes do the talking.'' 
 
 `` I ai n't running no campaign Rickets. Just sayin' that we need to get on with the getting on. The Housies will be down the way by morning.'' Jimmy nodded toward the pen nestled in the corner of the barn where a small group of goats munched contentedly. `` It's about time they turned to coin.'' 
 
 The rest of the boys were silent for a moment, each one turning over the possibilities. Good goats meant the house was in play, but getting Chosen was getting Chosen. The barn might not be luxury, but the future was something you could count on. Not much future for the Chosen if Market Day went sour. Last year's vote was a bit too fresh for anyone to take the subject lightly. Gut rot hit a week from the picking and that was that. 
 
 Nothing to be done about the past though, and there was more than a sporting chance this year. 
 
 Jimmy clapped his hands, snapping the others from their reverie. `` No use dawdlin', someone is getting named and they're gon na have to roll the dice. Bet they'll be happy for it when they got a real bed and three square.'' 
 
 The other boys shuffled about and glanced among themselves. On occasion, the looks held more meaning than the standard nerves, the savvier players confirming their allies and spying out their rivals. The slightest nod could be telling in the moments before a vote. Campaigning might be against the rules, but everyone had their strategies. A year made for a lot of plans. 
 
 Of course, alliances tended to hold up a bit better when the crop was looking lean. No one wanted to be on the wrong end of Market Day, so it was easiest to group up and pick off the sacrificial lamb. It got a lot trickier when the House was on the line. The stakes were just too high to let a good Market Day pass you by. 
 
 And that was the way of things. Everyone gets Chosen sooner or later, but the smart ones figured out how to choose. 
 
 
 

