1
A herd of cows were grazing in fields. A quiet stream ran through the fields. Grass grew tall and tasty. There was plentiful shade. They came into the barn at the farmer’s call. It was midday and too hot for cows to be outside. The barn was dim and cool. It had a heavy smell of hay. There was plenty room available for each cow. Light came in through broken windows that had so much dirt and grime on it you wouldn’t know it was a window. Dust shone through the cracks of light. Birds chipped their songs. A calm wind blew. All was calm. The bull of the herd, named Ross, came over to the farmer. “Don’t eat cows,” he said to the farmer.
“Go chew on your cud, we already went over this,” the farmer replied.
“How would you feel is cows ate human?” asked Ross.
“I don’t care,” the farmer said as he walked away.
Day went and night came. “Okay cows, we’re breaking out of this farm,” said Ross to the other cows.
Whispers rose around the barn. Some cows thought this was all a joke and went back to bed. The youth fidgeted with excitement. After a lengthy discussion with the elders, they broke down the barn door down, then the fences of the pasture.
“Huh, what was that?” murmured the farmer, “Hey! The cows are escaping!”
“He heard us!” yelled the cows.
“Get back here!” screamed the farmer. He got in his truck and tried to chase them down, but it was too late, the cows were gone into the forest. The cows traveled all that night and into the morning.
“We’re free!” mooed the cows.
They rested the rest of that day including the night. Some cows explored the area, but most of the cows slept. It lightly sprinkled that night. The light rain refreshed the cows and calmed them down from the rush of escaping the farm.
“Dumb cows,” said the farmer along with other vulgar language in his house. After cooking a rib eye, he turned on the news because word was going around about a massive storm coming in the area.
“Breaking News: Twenty cow caresses were found in the woods. Experts say that they were eaten by bobcats,” a reporter said.
“We should have stayed at the farm. Now twenty of us have been eaten by bobcats!” said Bessy.
“You’re right.” said Ross,” Does anyone remember how we got here?”
“Wait, let’s use our natural instincts.” said Joe.
“Don’t you remember? We’re domestic animals; we don’t have any natural instincts. We have some, but not like wild cows do,” said Ross.
“Right….”
“Let’s try and get some food,” said Jim.
A day later: “Breaking News: Seven cows were found dead in the woods. Experts say they have eaten poisonous mushrooms and other deadly plants.” stated a reporter on the news.
“Then let’s eat what the natives eat” said some cows.
“We can’t eat what they eat. They’ve adapted to different types of foods that we can’t eat like bark.” replied Ross. “Does anyone have any cud left? I thought not…”
“We need to get back to the farm or else we’ll all die,” said Bessy, “We don’t know how to survive out here.”
“Yeah, Twenty-seven of us are dead,” said Jim.
“Quiet! Do you not think I’m trying to lead us back to the farm?” asked Ross.
The cows were deep in the wood where rarely on any humans touched. Only the most extreme backcountry campers would even get close. The group of twenty-three remaining cows were walking when… crack! A dead tree just broke at the base and fell.
“Run!” Ross exclaimed.
All the cows scattered but two unlucky cows got caught by the falling tree. The tree’s weight crushed them and they never got up again.
“Why do we have such bad luck?” asked Ross, “I mean, how in the world does a tree fall on us?”
“Cows aren’t meant to live in the wild,” said Joe, “Too many have died already.”
Moral was low. Cows walked slowly, full of exhaustion and hunger. They followed random deer trails for hours.
“It’s the highway!” Bessy yelled, “We can follow it back to the farm!”
“Come on cows, you heard her, let’s go!” Ross said excitedly.
“We can’t read human writing.” said Joe.
“Which way do we go?” asked Jim
“We guess.” Solemnly replied Ross
