A story full of bull

You never know from day to day what is going to happen. It was a perfectly ordinary Saturday afternoon, and I had some time on my hands. Thinking about what I would like to do, it occurred to me that it would be nice to go and see my brothers. The boys campus was on the other side of the home, about a 2 mile walk from where I lived. I didn't mind the walk, but I wanted to spend some time with them, and came up with a plan to shorten the trip. The home was built in a semi-circle arrangement, with the administration building, the church, the gymnasium and the main kitchen right in the middle. The girls cottages branched off to the right and the boys to the left. It was quite a walk if you went from point A to point B on the paved street, but if you went through the field in the back of the home, it was only about a half mile from the girls cottages to the boys cottages. I decided to cut across the fields in back of the campus, especially since it was such a pretty day, and warm for being in the fall season. Taking this route entailed jumping over some fences, mostly wire fences and crossing a field where cattle grazed. There were a few cattle, mostly cows and a couple of sedate bulls, nothing to really worry about. So, I didn't even have the cattle on my mind as I walked that day. I had school, some boys, clothes, music, you know, ordinary thoughts for a teenaged girl. ( I was also watching where I stepped). Noticing a lovely cow not too far away, I wondered if she would let me get close to her. Well, I assumed it was a cow, I mean, how do you tell the difference anyway? I slowed my walk, and gradually moved in closer to the cow who just kept on grazing and not paying me any attention. I actually walked right up to her, (like I mentioned, I thought it was a her) and when I found myself directly in front of her, reached out and patted her head. For a cow who didn't know I was there a moment before, she sure yanked her head up and gave a terrific "MOOOOO!" That scared the crap out of me. I turned and started walking away from her, but to my surprise and fright, she started following me. Just walking right behind me, every once in awhile nudging me with her nose. I began to worry that she would poke me with her horns and walked faster. So did she. I began to trot, and so did she. Then I noticed something really alarming. Some of the cows didn't have horns. Only the really big cows had horns, and there were only a couple of them. The ones with horns were much bigger than the ones without too. My cow had horns, and was quite large. I began to worry that maybe my cow was a bull. I decided to turn and face that cow/bull? or whatever it was. I got the brilliant idea to pick up a stick, really a small branch so that if I had to defend myself I would have something to drive off the animal. As I straightened up from picking up the stick, I saw that what by now I was sure was a bull had come right up behind me once again. I was very nervous, I had heard stories of bulls attacking people just for being in their territory. I decided to "take the bull by the horns" (pardon the pun) and stand my ground. With a determined voice I told that bull to shoo! He didn't shoo. Again, I spoke loudly demanding that that bull shoo! He ignored my command. He began to sniff around my face and head. He licked my ears with his huge slobbery tongue. I did notice that he had pretty brown eyes, and then I got a grip. It was time to take action. One last time I shouted at him to shoo, to go away, to git! He stayed. Taking all the courage I possessed, I raised the stick and smacked him right across the nose- I thought that would get his attention. It did. He raised his huge, horn laden head and bellowed in my face. That scared me so badly that I just turned and blindly ran as fast as I could away from that bull. He ran after me, just kind of galloping, not charging or anything. I could hear his hooves clopping on the field grass, and I knew he was not far behind. With a mind full of terror, I tried to imagine what he would do when he caught up with me. I ran faster. So did he. In the distance, I saw a tree that looked easy to climb. Funny thing, when I got to that tree, I had no trouble climbing it at all. I scooted up into the tree, climbing from branch like the most talented chimpanzee. My breath was coming in hitching gasps and I thought my heart was going to burst right out of my chest. Tears of fright were streaming down my face. Finally, when I thought I was good and safe from that bull, I wrapped my legs around a branch and got comfortable with my back against the trunk. The bull was pacing in circles around the base of the tree, butting the trunk with his head, but I was about 30 feet up so I began to feel safe. For just a moment. Now, I have never been a really lucky person, and this of course was no exception. Believe it or not, that bull finally calmed down a bit and just lay his big old self down under that tree and got comfortable. Right under the tree. So, there I was, clinging to a tree 30 feet up over a bull that was already mad at me and then decided to wait for me to come down so that he could finish me off. I wondered how long he would be there. I wondered when it was time for his dinner. Would he wander off with the rest of the herd eventually? Would anyone miss me? Shoot, would anyone even think to look for me in the field? I hadn't told anyone that I was taking a short cut, I thought perhaps it was wise not to bring it up. I had told the matron that I was going to see my brothers, so maybe if it got late she would call and see if I had made it there. That was another can of worms that I didn't want to think about. Time passed and I sat in the tree. The bull just stayed where he was, and eventually I thought I could hear him snoring. I listened to the birds singing in the distance and felt the wind as it dried the tears on my face. It was getting cooler and I wanted to go home. I didn't know what to do, so I began to pray. I prayed that the bull would get up and leave, that I could get back to the cottage without the matron finding out that I had taken a short cut and that everything would resolve itself before it got dark. I am not sure how much time passed, but about the time my backside was getting numb from resting on the rough bark of the tree, I heard a noise. It was a tractor. A farmer was driving his tractor through the field not far from where I was trapped. I started yelling at him, not caring that my yelling would wake the bull. I was glad that it was fall, because the tree didn't have many leaves and I hoped the farmer would see me. I guess my prayers were answered, because suddenly the farmer took a sharp turn and headed for the tree. With the noise from the tractor and my yelling, the bull began to stand up and circle the tree again, mooing and making lots of noise. The farmer came right up to the tree, looking confused as to what was wrong with the bull. I yelled again and he looked straight up at me. The look on his face was comical, but at the time I didn't appreciate any kind of humor. He got off the tractor and shooed the bull from under the tree. With a great shove on the rear end of that bull, the farmer got him to leave. Stupid bull just turned and walked away as if he had nothing else to do. The farmer asked me why I was in the tree, and I told him about the bull being in the field that I was crossing. He told me that he couldn't understand why the bull bothered me at all, because it was a perfectly tame bull that even a child could pet. I wondered if I should mention that I had belted the bull with a stick. I thought better of it and after climbing back down from my lofty height, stood patiently and attentively as the farmer explained the dangers of walking through a field with cattle grazing. I dutifully apologized and assured him that I would never, ever again walk anywhere near a field of cattle, grazing or not! He asked me if I wanted a ride back to the paved road of the campus, and I thankfully accepted his offer. I went straight back to the cottage about 3 hours after I had first left. I went to my room and lay on my bed, thinking about the close call I had had. I think the worst thing about the whole incident was that I couldn't tell anyone about it in case I would get in trouble. So, I had to keep the whole terrifying ordeal to myself. The farmer didn't rat me out, and I came up with a plausible excuse for not visiting my brothers after all. I felt really lucky that everything worked out, and to this day, I swear, I will not go anywhere near a bull that is loose in a field! And by the way, I am still trying to figure out why I got the idea to belt that bull on his nose. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but looking back I guess I was either really brave or really stupid. All in all, it was a "mooving" experience!