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This Story is Copyrighted, if in doubt, please read COPYRIGHTS section at TALESetc.com Katie the Cow by Malcolm S. Haig
Katie was a very beautiful young cow. She lived on Mr. Vance's farm with lots of other young cows. Her hair was thick and black and Mr. Vance's children loved to run their fingers through her soft, silky coat. Her eyes were like black tulips, velvety and soft, and so enchanting. Her long, thick lashes semi-shaded the sadness that was hiding behind those big, black eyes. She had never seen how beautiful she really was because, as we all know, cows don't have mirrors! Katie was definitely one of the most beautiful cows on Mr. Vance's farm and he was very proud of her! Some of the other young cows on the farm were quite jealous of Katie's beauty and her soft, gentle, loving nature. They also knew that Mr. Vance's prize young bull, Gregory, was very much in love with her. He was black, handsome and so gallant, and all he wanted to do was to give his love to Katie. So, with all the other young cows feeling envious and jealous of Katie they would often exclude her from their conversations and make nasty comments, such as, "My word Katie! Are you putting on a lot of weight?" or "I wonder why Gregory fancies such fat cows?" Sometimes they were so rude and nasty that they would ask her to go up to the willow trees as they thought they had very private things to discuss that didn't include her. As she walked off she would hear them laugh and giggle. Naturally, this made Katie feel sad and lonely and didn't do much for her confidence. Some days Gregory would wink or smile at Katie from the adjoining paddock and. of course, Katie, being so shy, would quickly hide her head in the long grass. She wished more than anything that she could have the confidence to smile or say "Hello!" or move a little closer to the fence so that their eyes might meet, just far a fleeting moment. Katie knew in her heart that she loved Gregory very dearly, but she had convinced herself that she would not be a suitable wife for him as she saw herself as being fat and unattractive, and doubted that she would be able to live up to his expectations. Of course, Katie created all these negative thoughts in her own mind, as Gregory's love for her was unconditional. With each day that passed, Gregory's love for Katie grew stronger and deeper and his need for her to be his wife made him quite miserable. He pined that she might give him just one little piece of her loving heart and Katie also pined, because she so much wanted to tell Gregory how she truly felt about him. She wanted to tell him that she would love, above all things, to be his wife, to live in the same paddock and have lots of beautiful calves with him. As hard as she tried to tell him of her feelings she just couldn't! She clammed up inside and the words just wouldn't come out! As the days and weeks passed Mr. Vance noticed Gregory's miserable condition and he thought to himself, "Maybe it's time I found a wife for Gregory". The very next day Mr. Vance arrived in his old red truck and reversed into the paddock. Gregory was shocked as he had seen the truck come and go many times and one by one he had said "Goodbye" to his friends and wished them well. His legs began to tremble, he felt hot and dizzy, and he thought that he was going to faint! Mr. Vance carefully put a thick rope around Gregory's neck and pulled gently, guiding him in the direction of the truck. Gregory turned his head and looked into Katie's unbelieving eyes. They both knew what was happening and they both knew there was absolutely nothing they could do about it! By now Gregory was in the back of the truck and Mr. Vance was shutting the tailgate! Their eyes were still focussed on each other and tears were streaming down their faces. Gregory didn't care that the other bulls could see him crying, he only cared that he may never see Katie's sweet face again. He called out as loud as he could, "I love you, Katie! I will always love you! I will love you to the end of time! Oh, why, Oh why didn't you love me?" "Oh, but I did!" Katie called. "I loved you more than you could ever know, I just couldn't tell you!" Katie's heart felt as if it were tearing apart, she fell to the ground and sobbed, "Oh, Gregory, I love you, I love you!" but it was all too late! The truck slowly drove through the farm gate and they looked into each other's heart-broken eyes for the last time. Long days passed, weeks, months and some years Katie had heard that Gregory had married one of Mr. Brown's fine young Jerseys and they were very proud of their newly-born twins. Katie was glad to know that Gregory was well, and content with his new family, but in her heart her sweet memories of him never faded and also her regrets that she could have been the one that shared her life with him. Soon it was winter once again and the long-awaited rain had started to fall. It rained heavily for nearly a week and the paddock was half-flooded. Katie could no longer stand under the willow trees, for a small pond had formed and the trunks of the trees were bathed in water. Finally, the sun slowly appeared from behind the clouds and Katie could feel the warmth on her cold, wet back. The birds had begun to sing again and the frogs were croaking a merry tune, it was truly a glorious day for all! Katie strolled over to the willow trees and gazed down at the water, which glistened like crystal in the bright sunshine. As she gazed at the water she saw something move! She stepped back quickly and her heart fluttered. Nervously, she put her head forward and had another peek! She looked again and again! "What is this? I thought I saw something!" She thought she saw something so beautiful! She was looking at her own reflection! She saw her own pretty face, her own beautiful eyes, so big and soft, like velvet. She could even see into her own heart! In her heart she could see and feel things such as love, kindness, happiness, joy, gentleness, forgiveness, beauty, and many more wonderful things about herself that she had never seen before. She felt her warm tears flowing down her soft face and she whispered to herself, "I am really beautiful! I am as stunning as everyone else! I am perfect! I am not fat, nor am I ugly! I am not boring, or as dull as those other cows had told me! I just believed everything they had said to me!" All those years Katie had believed a lie, instead of loving and believing in herself as we all should do. Katie felt like a whole New World had just opened-up in front of her eyes and now, for the first time in her life, she could really start to live and do all the things her heart had been telling her to do. So now she knew that no matter what colour your hair is, or if you are fat or thin, or big or small, or plain or quiet we are all the same. It's really what is in your heart that counts. When someone truly loves you, they love you for yourself and not for what they see! Katie then boldly turned around and said "Goodbye" to her dear sweet willow trees that had sheltered her from the world for so many years. She tossed her head to and fro and strolled happily down the paddock to join the other cows. "Today I will start living my dreams and never again I will say 'No!' to something I really want. I will start living my dreams no matter how hard they may seem. Goodbye, Gregory! I will always love you and thank you for loving me!" The happy ending to this story is that Katie did meet a wonderful bull who truly loved her and she truly loved him and they enjoyed their five most dear and precious calves! The End.
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