The Trespassing Crew by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 5
They woke up to Annabelle fidgeting around, disturbing them.
Apple: “What are you doing, Mom?”
Annabelle: “I don’t feel well and I’m having some trouble moving.” The little ones were distraught.
Pablo: “Can we help?”
Annabelle: “Yes, go get Joe and Mary.”
Pablo: “How do we do that?”
Annabelle: “Go stand around the back door of the house and see if you can get their attention. Then try to lead them over here.”
Apple: “Are you going to be all right?”
Annabelle: “Probably, if you two get moving. Things like this have happened before. Joe and Mary know what to do.”
Pablo and Apple followed their mother’s instructions and ran to the back door of the house. They couldn’t see any sign of activity, so they decided to improvise a bit and brushed up against the door to make some noise. It worked, as in a few seconds Joe came to the door, opened it and came out. He tried to shoo them away, thinking that they just didn’t yet know their boundaries. They continued to stay in the vicinity, kind of jumping around, looking at him with worried eyes. Joe was
beginning to get the idea. They tried to lead him toward Annabelle, when Mary came out the door and said, “Something’s wrong, let’s follow them.” Pablo and Apple led them to the barn and ultimately to momma. Joe and Mary saw her lying on the loose hay, whimpering a bit.
Joe said, “Uh oh, looks like you were right.”
He got on his knees and touched Annabelle in various spots.
She jerked away, some, when he touched near her hindquarters.
Mary said, “We better get the vet, as quickly as possible,”
and they walked briskly back to the house.
Pablo showed his indignation and lack of understanding when he angrily asked; “What are they doing? They’re supposed to help.” He took two steps toward the seemingly retreating protectors.
Annabelle: “Wait here. You don’t understand. They are helping. They don't know how to fix me themselves, so they’re going to get someone who does.”
Apple sounded incredulous when she said; “Should we just sit here with you?”
Annabelle shook her head slightly, opened her eyes widely and said; “Yes. ...... You’ve done your jobs well. We just have to wait a while. I’ll be okay, soon.”
After a nervous half hour for Pablo and Apple, a recent model, light blue, odorless pick-up truck came into the
driveway. Pablo, Apple and Annabelle saw Joe and Mary talking to the man in the car. The veterinarian eventually got out and the three of them walked toward the three horses.
The tall, smiling vet warmly said; “Hi, Annabelle, what kind of problem do you have this time?”
Annabelle just sighed and blinked her eyes, happily.
Mary touched Pablo’s and Apple’s concerned heads and said;
“She just had these two beautiful babies yesterday.”
Vet: “Let me check something.” He bent down and touched Annabelle’s hindquarters and she flinched violently. He took a long hard look. “Okay girl, nothing to worry about. You shouldn’t be out here having babies all by yourself.” With that, he got up and walked back to his pickup. Joe and Mary followed along.
Joe: “She’ll be fine?”
Vet: “Oh yeah. Just some internal bleeding. I can stop it and fix the problem in about five minutes. I don’t even think I’ll need a painkiller.”
Mary: “Thanks so much for coming on such short notice.”
The vet retrieved a bag from the pickup and carried it back to Annabelle.
He took out a scary looking metal instrument and did something with it that did not look pleasant. Pablo and Apple shuddered and looked at each other. When he was finished he
gave Annabelle a loving rub on the belly, saying, “Great, great girl.” He got up and walked back to the pickup again with Joe and Mary in tow. They were quietly talking but the horses couldn’t determine what they were saying. The vet left the way he came and Joe and Mary went back to the house.
Apple: “How do you feel, mom?”
Annabelle: “Better already. I’ll just have to rest here another hour or so.”
Pablo: “That man’s from the outside world, but we also need him here. How does he know when to come?”
Annabelle: “I don't know. Joe and Mary must do something to get him.” She paused, laughed and added; “Maybe smoke signals.”
Apple: “Does he come here a lot?”
Annabelle: “Not much. Two or three times a year, usually.”
Pablo: “So Joe and Mary can’t take care of everything we need.”
Annabelle: “No, but they can handle most things.”
Apple: “What would happen if nobody knew what to do?”
Annabelle: “I might die.”
Pablo: “What’s die?”
Annabelle: “No more. Over with. I can’t really explain it better than that. You’ll see it someday and you’ll know exactly what it is.”
The three horses didn’t notice, but they were now surrounded by all their friends, except Efscot and Zelda, who were locked up in their wood and iron cages.
Charlie: “I get nervous when I see the vet coming.”
Charlene: “You’re always nervous, silly. How are you feeling, Annabelle?”
Annabelle: “Good. That vet does a fine job.”
Dominick: “Okay, everybody, the show’s over. Give the pretty lady some air and let her rest.”
Annabelle: “Thanks, Dominick.”
The others dispersed and continued on their daily routine.
Pablo and Apple lay down next to Annabelle and they all closed their eyes. It had been an eventful day.
When they woke up the sun was strong and there was still plenty of day left. Annabelle elevated, while Pablo and Apple admired her height. They smiled at her and they each took a few steps.
Annabelle: “I think I’m going to take it easy for a while more. I’m okay, but why don’t you go see some of your friends.”
They saw most of the others running around; looking like they were playing some variation of the tag game they had just learned. Vanessa’s predominately white coat seemed especially
brilliant in the bright sun. They walked over to the locked stalls to see the captives.
Zelda: “What was the big commotion all about?”
Apple: “Mom was sick. Some man came over and I think he fixed her.”
Zelda was still in a foul mood and sharply said; “Only thing humans are good for.”
Efscot’s edge had smoothed over. He chastised Zelda loudly, saying; “Stop saying stupid things to the babies. You know Joe and Mary are wonderful. I can’t imagine them being any better.”
Zelda: “All right, all right. You’re right. I should only say some of the things I do to an adult audience, probably not even them, for the choicest parts. I’m sorry. Don’t pay any attention to me. I wish Joe and Mary were our owners.”
Pablo: “Can you switch owners?”
Efscot: “No, we can’t. They can decide to switch things around, rarely for our betterment, but we don’t have the same right.”
Zelda: “They regularly change their own religions and politics, but we’re stuck with theirs.”
Efscot: “The babies are not going to understand that.”
Pablo: “You might be surprised. Do they do it to hurt you?”
Efscot: “I don’t think so. They just don’t consider our feelings. Since some of them have none, they can’t understand that we do. How would you like to be stuck in this stupid stall all day?”
Apple: “Not at all. Can’t Joe and Mary let you out?”
Zelda: “They can and probably would if left on their own.
But, our owners have told them not to. If Joe and Mary disobey, the owners will move us elsewhere. We’re merely good looking status symbols for them. They like to ride us around in boring, well-travelled areas, so that other humans will notice THEM.
It’s probably the only time anyone does.”
Efscot: “That’s a little harsh, but I really can’t disagree with anything you said.”
Apple: “Are all humans, except Joe and Mary, interested only in status symbols?”
Efscot: “Oh, no. There are a lot of nice ones.”
Zelda: “Only the vast majority. We’re supposed to be thankful when we get a decent one.”
Pablo: “I guess you’re something less than thankful for your current situation.”
Zelda: “You should have noticed that already, very easily.
I thought you were smarter than that.”
Pablo: “I’m only 2 days old. Give me a break.”
Zelda: “You’re right. I apologize. You’re getting the idea anyway. Sometimes I think I ought to do something to embarrass them when we’re out riding, like bucking or refusing to move, right in front of other humans that they’re trying to impress.” She laughed out loud.
Efscot laughed, too, but then turned serious and said; “I’m glad you don’t. Things could get worse. There’s always the glue factory.”
Apple: “I’m getting confused. I’d love to go see the outside world and don’t understand some of the things you’re saying.”
Efscot: “Don’t worry. You don’t have to understand them yet. You’ll figure it out. You can see all sorts of things if you go outside and then you can make your own judgments.”
Apple: “Tell us about some of the things you’ve seen.”
Zelda: “That would take forever, but I can tell you one story today. One day Efscot and I were taken for our rides, walking on a path, when we were approached from the other direction, by a human on another horse. That horse just wanted to come over and say hello to us. The owner didn’t want that.
When, he continued to stay around us, the owner started hitting him with a whip and he had to leave.”
Apple: “Why didn’t he let him come over and say hi?”
Zelda: “The humans have a need to show dominance. They’re really not in control of much of anything, so they like to show that they’re the boss, whenever they have an audience. They don’t care if it hurts us.”
Pablo and Apple were perplexed. They didn’t think that this type of behavior made any sense at all. They couldn’t think of any more questions and wished that they were able to.
However, they remembered that they were only 2 days old. They slowly walked away, looking for their other friends. They saw Gunther, Hilda, Dominick and Vanessa running around and decided to join them. They spent the rest of the day romping on steadier and steadier legs.