The Cow Train (CALTRAIN)
Tomorrow morning, after the first crow of the electronic rooster perched by the side of the nest, the chicken will scuttle out of the coop and hop onto a nearby fence. Cows are milling in a nearby pen, mooing and snorting. She deftly hops onto the back of a Holstein, digging her talons into the rough hide and settles in. The farmer calls out and starts thwaping the lead cow with a stick, urging it forward. Soon the whole herd, including the Holstein, is ambling towards a far field. An hour later the herd reaches the grassy knoll and spread out to begin chewing and digesting. The chicken hops off and starts pecking and scratching the dirt, winding her way around the cows, picking at juicy bugs and bits of grass. The sun continues its travel across the sky until the shadows of the cows grow long. She hears a noise and her neck stretches up and she peers out from behind a bush. The farmer has returned. She flaps up to the top of the bush then hops up onto the back of the nearest cow. The farmer drives the herd back along the dusty road and when the cows are parallel to the fence bordering the coop, she makes a running leap and coasts into the shade of the overhang. Fluffing her feathers briefly, she ambles up the ladder and into the cool darkness of the nest.