STORIES FROM THE BARN - STORY TIME

Written by Leona Nielsen
Published on May 2015

Hello Readers: For those of you who were wondering what had happened, let’s just say that sometimes in life there are time when you have to step aside and as the older folks would say……â€Get your Ducks in a row.†Now it is time to pick up our adventures from Stories From The Barn where we left off……First, we have to get everyone on the same page. Christmas hadn’t turned out the way it was supposed to with visitors coming and the Christmas ride cancelled due to the bad weather, so now everyone is trying to make something positive out of a not so happy situation by having….
STORY TIME
“Baby, I see you are about to jump up and down so why don’t you go first.â€
“Oh, thanks Havier. I would love to and this story is about Annie if it is alright with her.â€
“Sure, Baby. I don’t mind.â€
The Bowl
We all know how much Annie loves to let everyone know that she is a girl. That’s Annie, as we all know, but sometimes she gets impatient, especially when it comes to getting her grain. Must be a donkey thing. I remember this one day when our owners were away and they had the usual person looking after us. I could see that Annie didn’t like the idea of waiting. I was about to say, “Annie, you have to have patience sometimes†but I knew it was too late when I was already staring straight at The Look! Annie, very girly-like, walked over to her feed dish picked it up and without a beat let it fly in the air! Our caregiver just happened to turn around in time to see it coming and down she went to the floor as the dish hit the wall. She got up, picked the bowl up and filled it with grain and started walking towards Annie and said, “Now Miss Annie, we have to have a little chat before breakfast.†After she was done explaining to Annie that what she did wasn’t a nice thing to do, she gave Annie her bowl and walked away.
“Havier, I was so embarrassed over what I had done that I couldn’t look her in the eye. The only thing was that she didn’t know who was fed in what order. I was totally convinced that she had forgotten about me. It was only because she didn’t know in what order we were fed. I learned that you can learn from any situation if you want to and it doesn’t take a lot of words to explain to someone when they are wrong. The fewer the better.â€

“Who would like to go next?â€
“I think you should, Havier because, I know you have a funny story about Jake.â€
“I know the one you mean Baby. Jake, you okay with that?
“Not a problem.†Jake replied as he started to recall the event in his mind.
The Noise
It was getting on to evening and time to come in. It had been a long day so I came into the barn thinking that Jake was behind me. The weather had started getting colder so I knew the barn doors were going to be closed for the night. It didn’t take long before I heard our owner saying, “Jake, there is nothing that is going to hurt or jump out at you. Come on Buddy, it is time to come in.â€
You see, Jake had one half of his body in and the other half outside and he wasn’t moving. I could see that he was definitely in mule alert. I waited for a minute and he was still standing his ground about coming in. It was a standoff for sure. The conversation went like this……..
“Jake, what’s up with you not wanting to come in?â€
“Come on Havier, can’t you hear that noise?â€
“I don‘t hear a thing Jake.â€
“Man, there must be something wrong with your hearing then. I can’t believe you don’t hear that! It sounds like an animal in distress and it is here in the barn.â€
“Jake, there is no one in here in distress. Come in Jake and you can show me where it is coming from.â€
“I was at a loss as I couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.â€
“Okay, I will Havier and I can show you exactly where it is.â€
“I’m waiting.â€
“Jake started walking in very cautiously - in mule alert.†“It is right…..†he said as he walked up to the owner and in real mule reaction snorted in her face. That was his way of letting her know that he thought something wasn‘t right. At that moment, the light bulb went on for me and our owner.â€
“Oh Jake, you are so funny.†she said as she reached up and extended her arm towards Jake.
“The next thing I heard was BANG!!!! Jake was trying to back out of the barn to get away from it and his head met with the beam on the ceiling. Well, I don’t know what was more embarrassing, the bang on the head or running from the earphones.â€
“You see Havier, you are used to them and it was my first time. It showed me that when you are used to hearing something it doesn‘t impact you as much as when you aren‘t used to it. I know we have music playing in here all the time but it is coming from the wall. This was coming out of the ears. I don’t know what it was she was listening to but the fact that it still sounded like an animal in distress doesn’t change what I thought I heard.â€
It was one of those stories that makes everyone smile but not in a bad way.

“That’s my story, now who wants to be next?â€
“Can I be the storyteller this time Havier? asked Annie. “I would like everyone to share the story with me. I will set the stage and everyone can have a turn after that.†said Annie.
“Wow we have never done this before!†added Joseph.
“No reason we can’t put a spin on it.†replied Annie as she started the story…….
New Kid On The Block
“It is about us meeting someone new. Almost every day Dodger’s mom comes over to see us and we even get a mid- afternoon snack. I remember the first time she came by herself. She entered the barn calling out to each of us by name. We knew her as she had visited several times before with our owners. This was the first visit on her own. Now remember, she has seen us all outside and we look a bit different out there than we do inside. Of course, kids will be kids no matter what - human or animals - when no one is around and even more so when there is someone on their own…….â€
“Havier, do you want to take the stage first…..?â€
“Would love to Annie.â€

“I remember well when she came through the door. I was so happy to see someone, and knowing a treat was coming, that as she approached I stuck out my head from where I was standing. She was tall so I thought my height wouldn’t matter. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong because when she saw my head above her and the size of it…†“Oh, Havier, you’re such a big boy.†“She sort of stood back as if looking at me for the first time. Let’s face it. I haven’t got a small head. I am 16 hands, plus my head. I thought, what the heck, let’s do it again and see if I would get the same reaction if I stuck my head out again and sure enough she took another step back but seemed to be okay with me being as big as I am. I don’t think she thought I was the size I was but I have to give her credit, she has come back ever since and I like her a lot.â€
Let’s go now to Jake…….
“Oh boy! Well, like Havier, I got excited too because I knew we were going to get that extra hay and on a cold day it tastes so good. When she got to me I reached out to take some hay before she had put it down…..wrong move on my part because she turned and walked away…..Wh-a-at !!!! You aren’t giving me any hay?! Why would she pretend to give it to me and take it back? “Ok Jake let’s try again.†What does she mean by that, I thought, as she approached and again I helped myself with a mouthful and again she walked away. Oh! I am starting to not like her doing this to me. Just then, Havier looked up from his hay, giving me that, “are you not getting it?†look. Then it came to me! At this point, I didn’t know if she would give me another chance to redeem myself. I am happy to say that she did, and back she came for the third time. The only difference in the picture this time was that I had placed myself against the wall and gave her a lot of room to lay down my treat. “Oh Jake, I am proud of you! You are a good boy.†was her reply. Yep those words meant a lot.â€

“Now, how about you Joseph?â€
“Good to go girl. Just give me a second to get a make-up touch up…..â€
“JOSEPH!!!!â€
“Well Annie, you did say spice it up some. Ok, let’s goes……â€
“When I hear someone coming I like to pump up my vocal cords for when they open up the door. I heard the latch pop and I was ready……. She opened the door very quietly and as she entered, I let it go from the highest note to the lowest and all those in between. When someone comes in I always make sure I am in the corner, just by the door, so my audience can’t get in without hearing what I have to say. I can get loud. Then I hear…… “Oh Joseph are you okay? Oh poor Joseph. Are you ready for your treat?†and BANG, just like that, I got my treat. I haven’t figured out if they want to shut me up or they feel sorry for me. Whatever it is, it works, and works good. You can tell that she likes animals and especially me….just kidding! She likes us all.â€

“Baby, can we hear from you?†asked Annie.

“Well I have to say, that when I focus these blues, who can help but not like me? Unlike you Joseph, I don’t have to say a word. She is really gentle with us even when she pats us. I like that a lot. I did use my stomping once to see if that would make her move faster for me to get my treat ….nope no way, she just stood and looked at me saying, “Baby, I don’t think you are supposed to do that, now are you?†I knew then that I was the loser. I like her a lot just the same. I did learn that they must have briefed her ahead of time about what we might try.â€

“Alright, Annie, it‘s your turn now.â€
“Joseph, I think my slate is clean. I remember being on my best behaviour at all times when she comes.â€

“Annie, you have to weigh in just like the rest of us and none of this business about being a girl either! Just because you set the stage for the rest of us doesn’t mean you are off the hook.â€

“Oh boy! I guess I have to take centre stage. You have to give me credit for trying. Guess I will have to brush up on those skills for the next time I might need them. I like her a lot, but for me, it was more about trust. I have this thing about letting someone into my space before I am ready to do so. Each time she came I didn’t want to be touched, so I would pin my ears back to my head as far as I could hoping that I could make her sense that I didn‘t want anyone in my space. That didn’t work. Each day she would try and I would refuse until she looked at me….â€Annie, it’s okay to be afraid, but I am not going to hurt you.†I knew she wouldn’t, but hearing it from her made me take down my wall and let her in. Am I sorry I did? Not at all.â€

“Wow! It is soon going to be time for supper and I don’t know where the time went…. So, is there any other story you would like to tell?â€
“For now, I am finished, but not for good. You have to hold back something just in case there is another disappointment like the one we just had.â€
“Oh Joseph! You like story time that much?â€
“Yes, because I get to showcase my personality.â€
“JOSEPH!!!â€
“Just kidding, as usual.â€

As everyone settled in for sleep, a voice came from the loft.

“Thanks, everyone, for the stories. We had a great time up here listening.â€
“Oh Havier, we forgot to include Momma Kitty!â€
“Next time, Baby, will be just fine. Good night everyone.†answered Momma Kitty.
“Good night everyone up there in Catsvilleâ€
　

Hi Everyone Hope you enjoyed our stories. Until next month be kind to one another and stay safe.

Baby, Joseph, Annie, Havier, Jake and the cats