Tukuche
I’ve always, ever since I was a boy, liked Rudyard Kipling’s story The Cat That Walked by Himself. The cat, of course, got all the attention (as is only right), but I always held out hope for the other animals. After all,
…the Dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild—as wild as wild could be—and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones.
I loved that phrase as a boy—by their wild lones. But the dog and the horse and the cow and the sheep and the pig all gave up their wild lones. Unlike the cat, they abandoned their freedom for security, for a sense of stability in their wild, wet, and uncertain world.
Understandable, to be sure. But even as a boy I hoped at least one of the other animals—one cow, one sheep—would be unwilling to make that bargain. A cow that would be tempted by the sweet wonderful grass, but not enough to relinquish its warm white milk and its wildness. A cow that would say “I am not a friend, and I am not a servant. I am the Cow who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me.” And then, with a swish of its tail, walk away into the Wet Wild Woods by its wild lones.
I think we may have found a cow capable of that.
Photo "30302025403" not found (invalid ID)Photo "30302025403" not found (invalid ID)Photo "30302025403" not found (invalid ID)Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, greg fallis and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
