Untitled...a story...

Camp Ka-Nik-Ka-Nik was a camp much like the ones many of you have visited before. It had a lake for swimming, trails for hiking, rocks for climbing, pottery for painting, and crafts for crafting. And of course, if you were anything like I was, you would have looked forward to the barn, with the horses for riding. 1

Horses were not the only animals at the barn, though they were the ones who received the most attention. While campers waited for rides, they could pet the velvety-soft rabbits, laugh at the clumsy (and smelly) pink piglets, or feed the cranky Llama, Bo. You had to be careful when it came to Bo, though. If you tried to get too friendly with him, he'd spit!2

But this story is not about Bo, or any of the other animals you have already met. This story is about an animal that didn't quite fit in with the others at the barn. Her name was Jasmine, and she was a cow. 3

"A cow?" You might say, "I've seen lots of cows." 4

Well, that may be true, but Jasmine, while in many ways just like every other cow, was in some very special ways different from any other cow you've known. 5

Like all cows, Jasmine started out as a calf. But even before that, she spent the first months of her life inside her mother's big, warm belly. She loved to fall asleep listening to her mother's strong heartbeat and deep, even breathing. Even when she was full grown, Jasmine would sometimes make herself stay very quiet and still, just to remember the specialness of that time. Unlike you and I, cows don't forget important things like that. 6

As the time drew near for Jasmine to be born, she began to notice a change in her mother. Her breathing became faster, and her heartbeat weaker. Jasmine began to feel more and more cramped, and often moved around to find a more comfortable position. Then one day, she woke to find that she was squeezed so tightly, she could no longer move at all! Jasmine wasn't worried though, because she was still warm and safe. And besides, she felt like something big was about to happen. 7

Jasmine didn't know it, but her mother had been sold at an auction a few months earlier. The chicken farmer who bought Jasmine's mother wanted a cow that could produce milk for his enormous wife, and their nine spoiled children. But unfortunately, Jasmine's mother had become gravely ill while at the auction. When so many animals are jostled together in such a small space, it's very easy to catch a disease. Jasmine's mother was one of the unlucky ones. 8

Because she was so sick, Jasmine's mother became unable to give milk after only a couple weeks. The farmer's wife was furious! She ordered the farmer to punish the cow for her stubbornness. 9

"We ped good herd earned money fer thet cow! I den't care if ye beat it out of 'er, we will hev our milk!" She punctuated her screams with a few well-aimed pots and pans. 10

While he was henpecked, the farmer was not a cruel man. He also knew that beating the cow would no more produce milk than beating his empty wallet would produce money. He wisely decided to get rid of the cow. He knew his wife wouldn't stand for any more time or effort wasted on a worthless cow, so he was in a pinch. How could he find a home for the cow, without upsetting his wife even more? He wracked his brain until inspiration struck. 11

A few months back, the family had purchased a new couch. The farmer's wife had ordered him to get rid of the old couch, declaring that she didn't even want to look at the ugly old thing anymore. He didn't have time to drive all the way into town to the dump, so he had hauled the couch out to the end of their long driveway and left it on the side of the road. His plan had been to load it up into his truck bed the next time he headed into town, but it was gone by the next time he headed to the mailbox!12

So, the farmer took jasmine's mother and tied a strong rope around her neck. Whistling softly to her, he led the cow to the end of the long gravel driveway, and tied her to the gatepost. 13

He regarded her with compassion, but helplessness. "Well old gel, I'm sorry to do this, but there's jest nothing fer it." He scratched her ear. She stared at him with vacant eyes. "I wish ye luck." Slowly, he turned and trudged back to the house, but he was no longer whistling. 14

Unfortunately for Jasmine's mother, cows are not as much in demand as couches. No one sees a cow and imagines how nicely it will compliment their end tables. Many people passed by, but no one stopped. The sun grew hot at midday, and enormous horseflies buzzed and bit. Jasmines mother was thirsty, but there was no water. Her legs were shaky, but the rope was too short for her too lie down. A truck whizzed by, overflowing with laughing teenagers. One of them threw an aluminum can out of the truck bed. It bounced painfully off of the cow's dusty hide. The truck raised a cloud of dust that stung her eyes and burned in her throat. She felt dizzy. 15

She barely noticed another cloud of dust approaching, rising above the sparse trees and clouding out the midday sun. She didn't hear a thing when the dilapidated old truck crunched to a halt on the dirt road. She felt nothing when two pairs of strong arms hauled her up into a trailer and laid her gently down. She wasn't bothered at all by the bumps in the road as the truck sped toward its destination. 16

Inside her mother's belly, Jasmine felt restless and uncomfortable. Something was wrong, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. When she realized what had changed, an unfamiliar feeling of panic overtook her. 17

Her mother's heartbeat had stopped. 18