Once upon a time, there was a cow called Moosie-Moo who spent her days happily grazing in Poppy Meadow. Her closest friends were a beautiful fluffy rabbit called Honeybun and a wise old owl called Lennon.
 |
| Source: Independent.co.uk |
Now
Moosie-Moo loved to canter, gambol and kick her heels. She'd race
raindrops running down the knobbly oak, she'd race beatles through
the long lush grass and sometimes, when the sun was high, she'd even
race her own shadow.
Summer
turned into autumn. The Harvest Moon rose like a huge blue lantern
and Moosie-Moo became suddenly sad. “What's wrong?”, asked
Honeybun, bouncing like a rubber ball, eyes shining bright in the
moonbeams. A rustle high above in the leaves of the knobbly oak
announced the arrival of Lennon who settled on his favourite branch,
spectacles perched on his beak. He let out a long “twit twooooo”.
Moosie-Moo
sighed and stared at the moon. “It's so beautiful”, she said, “I
just want to jump right over it”. Honeybun sat back on her
haunches in surprise. “But,” said Moosie-Moo, “I can walk and
run and roll on my back but I can't fly like Lennon or jump like
you”.
Honeybun
considered. Lennon closed both his eyes and seemed to sleep.
“Well,” she said, “perhaps you should do some training to
practise jumping high enough to reach the moon. Why do you want to go
to the moon anyway?”. “That's easy”, said Moosie-Moo. “I've
heard that there's a cat who plays the violin, a little laughing dog,
a dish and spoon who love each other and it's made of lovely, yummy,
creamy cheese! It sounds so much fun!”
Next
morning the training session began. Honeybun used her great strong
paws to dig a pit filled with warm sandy soil and created a finishing
line made from her best carrots at the end of Poppy Meadow.
“Moosie-Moo”, she instructed, “run as fast as you can and
jump! Jump with all your might!”.
So
Moosie-Moo ran the length of the meadow and when she saw the pit and
the line of carrots she threw herself into the air but her hooves
barely rose higher than the tallest blade of grass and she sank
firmly into the pit of sandy soil. “Oh dear”. said Honeybun.
Over and over again Moosie-Moo raced the length of the meadow,
willing her body to rise into the air. “You make it look so easy,
Honeybun” she sighed sadly.
As the
moon rose that night, the two friends sat together bathing in the
soft moonlight. “I bet it's the best, most creamy cheese you could
wish for up there”, said Moosie-Moo. “Have a carrot”, said
Honeybun, “you'll see better in the dark”. A swish in the trees
announced Lennon's arrival, but he remained silent in the dark canopy
of leaves above.
“I have
heard”, said Honeybun about a magic device made by a cat named
paul”. “I think you mean a catapault”, said Moosie-Moo, “I'm
too heavy”. Honeybun thought again. “what about going on that
tram with pauline”? “I think you mean a trampoline”, said
Moosie-Moo, “I don't think it'd get me high enough”.
Now
Lennon could keep quiet no longer. He shook his wings and fluffed
out his chest. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight. “Moosie-Moo”,
he said sternly, “the moon is there for all to enjoy. It would be
a shame if you were to take dents out of it by eating its lovely soft
cheese!”.
“Well,”
said Moosie-Moo, “it seems as if I will never get there in any
case. I cannot fly and I cannot jump. All I can do is walk and run
and roll on my back”.
“Moosie-Moo”,
said Lennon, his glasses sliding even further down his beak, “you
can walk in the sunshine and run in the rain, you can roll on your
back in the mud. You are tall enough to see right across Poppy
Meadow. I have to fly in the air and Honeybun has to hop till she's
breathless to see the sun setting on the horizon. And your friends
the beatles barely get to see above the grass”.
“I
suppose I am being rather ungrateful”, said Moosie-Moo.
“We all
have our special talents and skills”, said Lennon. “It's what
makes Poppy Meadow the wonderful place that it is.”.
Honeybun
twitched her nose, gently placing her paw on her old friend's hoof
said, “We'll always be friends whether or not you can jump over
the moon”.
“Indeed,”
said Lennon. “It's not how high you can jump but what makes your
heart jump with joy that matters”.
And with
that, he closed his great round eyes and went back to sleep, leaving
Moosie-Moo and Honeybun to happily continue moonbathing in the peace
of Poppy Meadow.
copyright Linda Hobbis 8/8/14
