The Adventures of Brady the Cow

One particularly hot day in August, Brad paced around in his pen, wishing, wishing he could find a way to escape. You see, Brady lived on a cow farm, in a tight, cramped, pen with a hundred or so other cows and he was not allowed to come and go as he pleased, which made Brady very sad.

Unfortunately, today was the day when all the cows were headed for market to be sold and turned into- Brady didn't even want to think about it, but there was no way for him to escape. Here comes the farmer, ready to take Brad and the other bulls to market.

"Say goodbye to your old home," The farmer said. He went to the cow pen and started to move the cows into the large truck that would take them to the market. Brady took one last look at his pen (he knew he would never come back) and left with the farmer, feeling more down hearted with every step.

Soon Brady and the farmer reached a marketplace, where a large group of people were milling around looking to buy cows. Brady knew all too well what would happen to him if he stayed at the market, and he had no intention of becoming beef or a hamburger at a fast food restaurant. The farmer soon began talking with potential customers, and turned his attention away from Brady.

In a matter of minutes, Brady wiggled lose from his halter, and ran off into the crowd. Soon, the farmer was chasing after him, but Brady was too quick and nimble. The farmer, having never exercised a day in his life would not keep up with Brady and had to admit defeat. Brady did not know where to go, but he kept running and running, past astonished bystanders and terrified small animals, until he reached the end of the road.

Brady looked about and saw that he had come to a harbor, a place where lots of boats were getting ready to set sail. Before Brady knew what he was doing, he jumped onto a cruise ship nearby. Brady had no idea just where this ship was headed, but he did not care; he only wanted to escape to a new life.

Of course, most (if not all) of the passengers were surprised to see a cow aboard a cruise ship, but Brad was such a gentle and well-mannered cow that eventually no one really minded. In fact, after several days, the passengers began to enjoy seeing Brady walking around the ship, and many started to wonder what would happen to him once the cruise ship landed. Brady wondered the same thing.

He worried about how he would be treated once he left the ship. Much to his surprise, when the ship landed into port, he saw other cows walking around freely on the streets. No evil farmers trying to take the cows to market, no one was trying to turn Brady into someone's dinner.

Everything seemed so nice, it was almost a dream. Brady climbed down the ramp, and walked onto the streets of this foreign town, filled with people and cows mixed together into one big, happy group. Brady knew no one at all, but he knew life in this town would be a better life than the one he was leaving behind.

Soon, Brady saw a cow that was standing near another cruise ship, and so he walked over to her and introduced himself. The cow's name was Juliette, and she had stowed away on a cruise ship as well, escaping from a cow farm, and a farmer that made her give milk from dawn until dusk. Juliette thought they were in another country, a place called India.

For some reason, it seemed that people in India were extremely nice to cows. Perhaps the two cows were finally safe at last. Together Brady and Juliette walked down the streets of India, passing bazaars and shops, food stands filled with wonderful food. Life seemed good here, much better than in America.

In India there was happiness and freedom from mean farmers. Brady and Juliette soon came to a field of grass filled with about five cows, all eating hungrily. “Excuse me, my name is Juliette and I am lost. Not lost, but I am new here and I do not know where to go”.

The oldest cow, named (appropriately enough) Old Anthony looked Brady and Juliette over and spoke. “This is where we live, free from the threat of being turned into dinner for humans. We all have different jobs and we all take care of our living area. Feel free to join us if you would like.”

Brady and Juliette liked this idea very much (after all, they had no place else to go) and soon all the cows gathered together to eat dinner. Besides Anthony there was Gloria, a chef who cooked most of the meals, Matt a preacher who presided over all the marriages throughout much of India, Sally, an actress who appeared in many films, and Jemma who owned the local Moo Mart (much like the a cow version of a Wal Mart). Both Brady and Juliette knew they would have to get jobs in order to support themselves, so it was decided that Juliette would work with Jemma at the Moo Mart and Brady (who was quite a handsome cow) was going to try his hand (or hoof) in modeling.

That night, for the first time Brady and Juliette went to sleep knowing that they would be safe and sound. The next morning, Juliette went to work with Jemma and began to learn the inns and outs of working in a large store. “Why don’t I have you work in the hat department?” Suggested Jemma. “Every cow enjoys a good hat”. And so Juliette went to work in the hat department, sorting each on into piles and placing them on the selves for customers to look at. Soon, the first cow came in. “I would like a purple hat with a purple bow in the front please,” The Cow asked kindly. Juliette went to the shelf to find a purple hat, but all the boxes tumbled down! Juliette cleaned up the mess she had made, and handed the customer a nice hat, but it was too small and the Moo Mart was out of larger sizes.

At the end of the day, Juliette finally sold her first hat, a pink hat to a teenage cow that was going to her first school dance. Meanwhile, Brady was trying an attempt at modeling, a job that turned out to be much easier than working at the Moo Mart. Brady worked for a man who owned a tourist company, and the man felt that cows would bring more attention to his business.

The man placed Brady in a field of grass and when tourists walked by all Brady had to do was look like a cow. In Brady’s opinion, it was almost too simple (but fun). Still, when both Brady and Juliette came home, they were tired and ready to hit the straw. Days passed, then weeks, then months and the cows lived a happy, carefree, life filled with excitement and adventure, but at the same time, a safe life. Life was wonderful for Brady, Juliette, and the rest of the cows, with plenty of fun adventures. But that will have to wait for the next book....