Lassy Tries to Try

Once upon a time, in the north of the Republic of Ireland, roundabout Sligo, there was a silky brown and white cow named Lassy, who was known far and wide for her kindness and generosity of spirit, in addition to her mooing abilities.

Sadly, though, Lassy was cursed with a big ego.

Lassy was so satisfied with her life that she was quite content to just stay with her beloved little herd and moo the same songs over and over again.

Lassy would hold the herd spellbound mooing songs of bovine love and romance, and she liked nothing better than to help another cow become a proud vocalizer in the herd, but she never looked outside her herd at all or even saw the little princess angel cow, mi-moo, who always helped every animal, in or out of the herd.

Some of the older more seasoned bovines resented Lassy, and were jealous of her mooing abilities -so jealous that they decided to meet together and try to push Lassy out of the herd by hurting her feelings and making her feel unwanted.

Unbeknownst to Lassy, some of the very heifers that she had helped along the way were also jealous of her status and they conspired with their elders to get rid of Lassy once and for all, by making her feel unwanted and unloved.

One summer day Lassy accidentally overheard some of the older bovines talking in hushed whispers about someone's lack of talent and versatilty. She wondered who on earth they could be talking about and she felt sorry for whoever it might be.

Lassy knew it was never any fun to be ridiculed by anyone, much less your own herd.

"She simply doesn't fit in," Henrietta Heifer snorted.

"No she doesn't!" agreed Cow Chi Chi. "She sings one song over and over, and really serves no purpose in this herd."

"Let's form a group and invite some of those other heifers she helped up to join it. I know they have ambition. We'll make sure she knows she isn't wanted when her so-called friends don't ask her to join!" Monica Moo agreed gleefully.

A couple of the younger sweet cows mooed brave protests, but the older ones continued their tirade against the offending cow and Lassy wondered again who the unlucky bovine might be and how someone could be the target of so much resentment.

Lassy's eyes opened wide when she heard the next moo coming from Carioke Udders, one of the bovines she'd felt closest to and trusted the most.

"That Lassy has a big ego and we'll show her. We'll form an elite Mooers group and we'll make sure she knows she isn't welcome!" Carioke mooed confidently.

Hot tears burned Lassy's eyes as she listened to the cruelty of some of the old cows. She knew she had to get away and so she ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, far far away.

She cried and cried for days and days, feeling as if she had no friends in the world, except one farmer who would check on her every little while and the little angel cow, mi-moo, who would peek in on her every now and then. She always mooed she was fine and kept crying and the farmer would shake his head and tell her he missed her mooing and hoped she would come back.

But she just shook her head.

When she finally could cry no more, she looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful fairy princess waving at her from far above.

She knew immediately who it was.

"It's Princess mi-moo!" She mooed in awe as the fairy princess came close to her and smiled.

"Lassy, the farmer told me you were here. What has you so upset?" mi-moo asked kindly and Lassy explained her sad situation to the princess angel cow.

mi-moo grinned to herself. Bad as it was, she knew Lassy had a tendency to over-dramatize and exaggerate. Still she knew it must have hurt to find out that the other cows she liked so much and even looked up to, didn't like her at all.

"And I'm never going back and never mooing again!" Lassy finished with a stomp of her stubborn hoof.

"Well, if you stay here and feel sorry for yourself, that will give them what they want. I've got a better plan! You've got to try to try, Lassy!" mi-moo said with a smile.

Lassy's eyes grew wide as she listened to the Princess mi-moo angel cow explain her idea - for Lassy to expand her talent and try all kinds of vocalizing, not just mooing, and come back and be friends with all kinds of animals, not just members of her original little herd, although she did have some true friends in the group.

"You can hang out with some really smart kitty cats, called the Octobre Kittys, and maybe even make friends with an otter and a squirrel who do all different types of vocalizing!" mi-moo said with a smile. "The important thing is to focus on others and not yourself so much! And who knows, maybe you'll even find some forgiveness in your soul for those who hurt you. That is when you will truly know you have moved on."

Lassy's eyes brightened at the very mention of the Octobre Kittys. They were the best meowers in all the animal kingdom, in addition to being kind and helpful.

Then the words "squirrel" and "forgiveness" stuck in her mind and she shook her head and stomped her hoof.

"No way. No squirrels. I'm afraid of them and they are rodents. They chitter and leave droppings. I do have standards after all!" She insisted with a shake of her horns.

"Wait and see. I think you will find there are other animals with good hearts who are kind. Just have a little faith, Lassy. I'll help you." mi-moo promised.

And so, like a guardian angel, mi-moo shepherded Lassy back to the edge of the pasture where her herd would congregate. Slowly but surely, with the farmer's help and mi-moo's encouragement, Lassy started to get to know some of the other animals in the field and her true friends from the herd hurried over to help her feel welcome.

And after a long time of trying, she found that she formed good friendships with lots of animals who didn't just moo. They made all kinds of sounds, some of them barked and some meowed and one of her best friends was even a chittering squirrel, although he liked to pull her tail whenever he got the chance.

As time went on, Lassy's confidence grew and she even tried to join in with her new friends, making all kinds of noises and trying new things. Unlike before, Lassy wasn't a leader, but she had something even better - true friendships with animals of all kinds.

Rodent and Cow, Octobre Kittycats, a llama, a hot flying insect, a dog, even a talking chicken - they all had one thing in common - the kindness in their hearts and goodness in their souls.

So Lassy learned, in the end, what mi-moo had known all along and tried to tell her - that it isn't how high you rank or what you moo that counts. It isn't the power you craved and hoarded like a miser counting gold.

It's what's in your heart that really matters most.

And all you have to do is try to try, and look outside your herd, and even a cow can find happiness and maybe even be friends with a squirrel, and someday maybe even learn to forgive.

Stranger things have happened.

The End

p.s. This story is dedicated to miblu (away) & NL*