FOR THE LOVE OF BULL

Deep in the heart of Texas there was a bull named Stetson. This bull had the love of a girl named Jewel. Jewel had the love of her rodeo loving, rancher dad. Now Jewel had her finger wrapped around her daddy's heart so tight, there just wasn't much this daddy wouldn't do for her. One day he took her to a cattle auction with him, and this little girl fell swift and hard for big, old Stetson.

This big, old beast had the wanderlust in his belly, which is how he ended up on the auction block. A farmer got tired of the weekly roundups and neighbor complaints, and put him up for sale at auction. The farmer got tired of Stetson's bull, no pun intended! He told the girl and dad that he and Stetson had come to the end of their road. But was a fine animal for what the rancher's daughter had in mind. Now, Jewel was a girl of many talents as is common in the heart of Texas. She dreamed of winning prized ribbons at 4-H competitions. Oh yes, she had big plans for Stetson!

So off Stetson did go to his new home and a mutual love between a girl and a bull. He settled right in to that new ranch on those long, sultry, dog days of summer deep in the heart of Texas. And Jewel carried out the stepping stones that paved the way to those big blue prized ribbons. She bathed that bull and blew him dry. She brushed and powdered and buffed. She painstakingly painted his hooves with glitter polish; braided his tail with ribbon. Jewel fed and watered him and showered him with attention, guiding him all over the lush green ranch with nothing but a rope. Stetson settled in to his new world, and rightly so, too, under all this lavish attention. Blissful weekends were spent at competitions where Stetson proudly won ribbons for his little mistress. For a while things were as calm as a humid, Texas breeze.

Alas, just as the seasons change, so does life on the ranch. Long days shortened, shadows lengthened, breezes cooled, lush green colors changed. Jewel went back to school and, another of her many talents-junior cheerleading. Her weekly academic and extracurricular activities made for some mighty long days for sir Stetson. The wanderlust began to tickle his belly once again as he waited for that passionate Texas rancher's daughter to come home every evening. It wasn't long before he found the downed section of the fence, the rancher daddy unable to keep up with the maintenance while on the road so frequently. Up and down the winding road he wandered visiting animals and people alike. He happened upon the bus stop at just the right time for Jewel to disembark. While she was off cheerleading, he found the cars coming home from long days of work. Some drove on, some stopped to stare in awe. His favorite was the lady who drove a Jeep and would stop and roll her window down, talking to him in a sing song, kind voice, letting him lick her hand.

But dammit, don't you just know that people are people and some are evil incarnate. Stetson did wander just a little too far, they reckon. Whether he ate something bad on another property, or someone got tired of him and poisoned him, no one knew. Perhaps the meth users in the area got bored one day? However it went down, that sweet little Texas girl happened upon a very sick, old bull one cold, misty morning when she went to feed and water him. BLOAT. Every large animal's worst enemy. Despite heroic efforts by a mama filling in for a rodeo dad on the road, a devoted little girl, and the local large animal vet, big old Stetson the bull succumbed to the wicked illness. And a broken-hearted Jewel sobbed disconsolately in her mama's arms.

By the end of the week, a loving dad came home from the road loaded for bear. He interviewed neighbors he had established deep ties with, reported the death to the local authorities, and took his little angel to other auctions hoping for a new distraction. Such is the circle of life on a ranch. Dogs, kittens, pigs, and horses all come and go. And a little Texas girl, who had the love of a gentle, giant bull, learns a harsh life lesson. Jewel moved on to smother other lucky ranch animals with love and devotion, winning many prized ribbons along the way. But her heart always remembered the love of a bull named Stetson deep in the heart of Texas.