Walking in the Fields

It was the summer vacation and sister Sue and I had gone away to visit cousins who lived in the bush out near Dubbo in New South Wales. Everything was so different to us. We were used to living on our island off the coast of tropical Queensland.

Our cousins lived on a farming station. They had lots of animals - sheep, cattle, chickens and goats. And boy, it was so hot! There were none of the cooling sea breezes that we were used to at home.

We spent our first day exploring the fields and pastures. Everything was so green from the spring rains. There were lots of trees and dense hedgerows that would divide up the fields for the animals.

We arrived at a gate and fence over which we climbed. Then there was a small bridge over a fast running stream. The field had a long thin shape and was surrounded by dense hedgerows. Slowly walking along, we took in every small creature we saw. There were so many birds of every shape and size, singing songs that we had never heard before.

As we headed further into the field, we searched the hedges in the hopes of finding some birds' nests. We also realized that the field had quite a strange shape. A little further ahead, the field turned a corner giving it an 'L' shape. The gentle breeze blew and you could see the long green grass moving to and fro and a wonderful fresh smell met our nostrils.

As we turned the corner of the field, we were met with an unexpected and scary sight. Right in our path stood a big black bull with horns, a ring in its nose and a look as if to say - " what are you doing in my field?"

The bull scuffed his hoofs on the ground and snorted. Without a word being spoken, my sister and I decided that it was time to leave. As quick as we could, we turned and began walking back toward the fence and gate. We dared not to look back.

We walked faster and faster still not talking but just giving each other wide eyed stares. Suddenly the field took on a whole new size - it seemed huge and the gate seemed very far away.

Then the worst thing happened!!! We could hear the pounding of hooves coming from behind us - the bull was charging! With just a quick glance behind, we broke into a sprint. I never knew I could run so fast!

No matter how fast we ran, that bull just kept getting closer and closer. I was so scared and that gate still seemed so far away.

It seemed like we had been running for ages when at last the gate was within reach. But there was no time to even climb the gate yet alone open it to get out. I took one flying leap over that fence and landed on the other side. Sister Sue was right beside me. I never knew I could jump so high - it's amazing what you can do if you have a bull chasing you.

The bull arrived at the gate right behind us and came to a dusty halt at the fence. He seemed happy that we had been expelled from his field. We just stood there for a while catching our breath and staring into the eyes of that bull.

For the rest of our visit, we decided that before exploring any fields, we would first make sure we could see everything that was inside just in case it was someone's home.

When my sister and I relayed our story to our cousins, they had grins on their faces. They knew that we would find out about the bull the hard way, but not to worry! When they visit us next summer, we have lots of surprises in the ocean ready for them!