Living in frontier Arizona was always exciting. Between cowboys and Indians, flooding rivers and monsoon thunderstorms, snakes and skunks and coyotes, there was never a dull moment for the early settlers. One story grandma used to enjoy telling us about was the time she and her mama were nearly skewered by an angry bull.
One day Ethel's mama asked her to come out to the carriage house and help her turn the quinces and pomegranates they had stored there for the winter. The fruit would go bad if it was left lying on one side all season, but when it was turned over it kept longer.
While they were working some cowboys came down the street. They were moving a herd of long horned cattle that belonged to their neighbor from the field they had been grazing to another pasture.
Just as they went by one of the bulls saw something in their yard that attracted his attention. He broke away from the herd and jumped right over the front fence, running straight towards Ethel and her mama! They were so scared!
There was no door on the carriage house, and only an old raincoat hanging on the wall to hide them. Ethel's mama grabbed her and they hid behind the raincoat, pressing themselves flat against the wall. With hearts pounding they prayed that the old bull wouldn't see them.
There was a table along the outside of the carriage house. A five gallon can of honey sat on the end, not more than eight feet from where they were hiding. The old bull caught the can in his horns, tossed it into the air and ran his horns into it.
On the clothes-line near by was an apron flying in the breeze. It caught the bulls attention and he ran towards it, catching it in his horns and ripping it off the line as if he was trying to get even with someone. Finally, when there was nothing left to catch his eye, he lumbered off into the backyard.
As soon as the bull was out of sight Ethel and her mama ran for the house. The men driving the stock came into the yard to drive him out, but he wouldn't go. Finally they decided to leave him alone.
By and by he jumped over the fence and went back into the neighbor’s pasture. Maybe he had made a friend there that he didn’t want to leave. Whatever his reasons, Ethel and her mama were sure glad that day that someone had left their old rain coat in the carriage house for them to hide behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment