THE BALLAD OF COLIN THE COW

Colin the cow stood out from the herd,
sad and alone, with no friends but the birds.
The other cows in the lush green pasture,
would point at him and moo with laughter.
 
But why did they single him out in this way,
why did they mock him and then walk away?
Poor Colin was just like the others, you’d think,
except for the fact that his skin was bright pink.
 
It’s true that you don’t see pink cow’s everyday,
the reason, well even the farmer couldn’t say,
but apart from his shade, our friend was the same
as the rest of the herd, it was all such a shame.
 
At mealtimes he’d stand and patiently wait
for the herd to move on, leaving scraps for his plate.
Colin couldn’t help being a bright shade of pink,
he just wanted some friends who didn’t point and blink.
 
Now, in the middle of the field was a dirty old pond,
surrounded by reeds and soft mud just beyond.
The calves were all taught to keep well away,
for the mud was too deep and dangerous to play.
 
But two of the boys thought they knew so much,
that before very long they were trapped in the sludge.
The rest of the herd stood around with a moo,
for they didn’t know what they were going to do.
 
Then bursting through the crowd to the edge of the pond,
came Colin, with a branch in his mouth, good and long.
He reached out to the unfortunate pair,
as the rest of the herd just stood and stared.
 
The first of the calves gripped the branch with his teeth,
and Colin pulled hard digging his hooves in beneath.
Slowly but surely the mud set him free,
and the calf reached the bank with a moo of pure glee.
 
Colin then reached for his partner in crime,
who grabbed the branch and started to climb,
and as Colin began to pull on the limb,
a few of the other cows now joined in.
 
So now with all this extra help,
the calf came out faster with a startled yelp.
Once he was free he walked along the bank,
until he came upon Colin with a loud moo of thanks.
 
From that day forward he was one of the herd,
and many tales of his bravery were heard.
His friends now pondered and wondered why,
they had all been so silly, causing Colin to cry.
 
At the end of the day he is like all the rest,
in fact he is now seen as ‘one of the best’.
He is so full of joy and smiles, and to think,
he was once singled out, just because he was pink.
 
 

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Written by Darren Scanlon, 16th September 2015.
©2015 Darren Scanlon. All rights reserved.

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