Well it’s official.
Little man has had his first, and last, cow encounter. Why’s that, you ask? Well.
It began on a day like any other.
Actually. It wasn’t just any
day. It was the day of little madam’s
fourth birthday. The same day we decided
to take little madam and little man to a nice friendly animal farm just on the
outskirts of Melbourne. After all, what
better thing to do to celebrate a four year olds birthday. Not to mention a great outing for little man,
who’s similar to his older sister in that he shares a real love and fascination
for all creatures great and small.
Well. That was before he had a
close encounter with a rather large and hungry cow.
We were having a ball to begin with. Little madam patted a range of friendly
animals, had her first pony ride and even got to handle a couple of rabbits and
a guinea pig. And little man had a
terrific time throwing around – then rolling around in – a heap of hay and
sawdust in the animal pens. He even took
the opportunity to dip his hand and have a splash in a few of the animal’s
drinking water buckets. But the real fun
began when we decided to take the so-called “feed trail” armed with a loaf of
wholemeal bread that we were given on the way in to the farm. And, although the signs ensured we understood
that feeding the kangaroos was forbidden, apparently feeding the cows was not.
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| Hello down there...do you have some food for me? |
Admittedly, I’ve never in my life come close enough to a cow
to actually feed it. And it’s amazing
how their long and warm – yet rather slimy - tongues literally leave their
mouths to grab hold of the bread. And
it’s even more amazing – and perhaps a little gross too – how much slobber gets
on your hand in the process. I suppose,
if you think about, the slobber could be the cow’s way of saying “thank you”
for the food. But the grossness of the
slobber, or the larger than life tongues, didn’t deter little madam or little
man from getting in and having a go at this fascinating feeding exercise.
 |
| Yum yum...slobber slobber |
Thankfully, little madam managed a couple of slices without
a problem, and little man had no trouble on his first go. But second time round, little man caught
sight of the massive tongue making its way towards him and panicked
slightly. Or so it seemed. I assumed the tears, which erupted after the
cow had snatched the second slice of bread from little man’s hand, had been
brought on by the fright he’d gotten from realising that the cow’s tongue was
nearly bigger than he was. And,
naturally, I giggled a little at his over-the-top reaction. I regretted laughing later though when I
noticed a small graze on little man’s hand, and realised the cow had actually
taken an unintentional nibble only seconds before the tears began. Whoops!
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| Check out the chompers on this one!! OUCH!! |
Thankfully, I'm pleased to say that no real harm was done. But I’m pretty sure little man will think
twice before he decides to offer food to a hungry cow. Although given I’m almost thirty-five and this
is the first time I’ve fed a cow, little man might forget the bad experience
before he gets the chance to do it again.
With any luck, anyway!
Thanks, little man, for being brave in the face of such a
large and sharp-toothed beast. Sorry I
wasn’t more sympathetic with you at the time.
Love you!
