The Bull

Tim was a small for a twelve-year-old boy, he wasn’t self-conscious about it but the other boys in his year brought it up any time they could. It seemed more important to them than it did to him, and he never understood the big deal. The school bell had just rung, signalling that the day was over, and it was time to go home. Tim’s house was a twenty-minute walk from his school, most kids would complain about this trek but not Tim. The walk home was his favourite part, because on his way back he got to walk by a farm.

Tim loved animals but his favourite by far was the cows and the bulls, the cows would often come up to Tim and walk along-side him from the other side of the fence. Tim would feed them the nice grass on the other side of the fence that they couldn’t reach, and he would sometimes save the fruit or vegetables his mum gave him for lunch. The bulls always stayed away however, which disappointed Tim because he loved them as much as the cows.

Today’s walk by the farm wouldn’t be a peaceful one though. As Tim stopped to feed the cows, a group of young boys Tim knew from school approached him and began to make fun of him. Tim ignored them and hoped they would leave, but no such luck, they stayed and yelled bad insults at him.

“You should be in there with the rest of the animals” they teased.

“I would love that actually” Tim responded as he reached out and pet a cow on the nose.

“Not too sure that bull over there would like it, he looks mad, how about we put you in there and see what he does” the boys threatened “I’m sure it would love to get a hold of you, especially with that red shirt your wearing”.

“Actually, bulls are colour blind, they can’t see the colour red, it’s not the colour that makes them angry, they don’t like the movement of the cape” Tim informed them.

The rude young boy didn’t appreciate being told he was wrong, and with this he grabbed Tim, motioning for the other boys to do so and they threw him over the fence. The height of the fence was as tall as the other boys heads, it was made up of wooden posts and barbed wire. Tim wasn’t tall enough to get himself back over, and he wasn’t able to climb because of the barbed wire. Tim told the boys to help him back over but instead they ran away.

There was a fence on the other side of the paddock, but the only problem was that the bull was in the way. Tim knew his red shirt wasn’t going to be a problem, but he was still in the bull’s territory. As Tim made his way across, the bull stood unmoved, big beady black eyes fixed on Tim. Every now and then the bull would stomp its foot on the ground and angrily exhale through his nose, forcing Tim to freeze in place. The bulls large horns were very threatening and Tim didn’t want to get on the bulls bad side.

Tim had made it across the paddock, but the bull was still standing in front of the fence. Tim didn’t know what to do, but then he had an idea. Tim reached into his packed lunch and took out his all his saved fruit and vegetables. He held them out to the bull as an offering for his passage. For the first time the bull moved, it kicked at the dirt and exhaled its hot breath onto Tim. Tim couldn’t move, he was too afraid that any movement might spook it and if he was honest with himself, he was beginning to doubt whether bulls are actually unaffected by the colour red.

Tim stood there, holding the gaze of the bull, neither of them blinking until the bull took a sudden step forward. Tim closed his eyes in fear, expecting the bull to charge but instead he felt the gentle and sloppy nibble of the bull’s tongue against his palm. Tim opened his eyes, as the bull ate from his hand, this was everything Tim had ever dreamed but he didn’t want to push his luck. Tim placed the remaining food onto the grass and as the bull went to eat the rest, Tim slipped past and left through the gate.

That next day when Tim walked by the farm, the cows weren’t the only one to join him, this time the bull was waiting to greet him at the fence. Tim was thrilled, he reached into his bag for the vegetables he had brough especially for the bull and held out his hand. As the bull ate from his palm, Tim held out his other hand and got up the courage to reach out and stroke the bull’s head. Tim was thrilled, his dream of being friends with the bull had finally come true, Tim was so happy that he a mental reminder to thank those boys’ tomorrow at school.