Sally The Magnificent Cow

A Children's Story

There once was a cow from a farm in the valley
she lived in a barn with her mom and her dad
but from the day that her parents had christened her Sally
not once was she happy, no, Sally was sad.

You see, life on the farm wasn't what she had wished for
she wished she had something better to do
so she went to her mother and asked her one day,
"Oh mother, dear mother, can I go to school?"

Well, her mother laughed loud the moment she asked her
saying, "Sally, a cow belongs in the pasture
chewing on grass and swatting at flies
that's what cows do! And don't ask me why!
That's just how it is, it's an unwritten rule.
Cow's", said her mother, "don't go to school."

But Sally wanted her life to be fun and exciting
filled with adventure, reading and writing
so she pestered her mother, and she wouldn't give in
until finally her mother said, "Ok Sally! You win!
Go to school if you want, but I'm telling you now;
school is for people, it isn't for cows."

So the very next morning, Sally went on her way
with a pencil and scribbler inside her bookbag
and she walked until finally she heard the sound
of children at play, they were dancing around
but when they saw Sally they shouted out loud
"Hey everybody, look! It's a cow!"

Well, they all laughed a good one, a howl and a hoot.
A cow with a bookbag? Going to school?
This is impossible! It's Crazy! but then
when the school bell rang, Sally followed them in.
She sat at a desk at the back of the class
while all the kids snickered and giggled and laughed
but Sally sat silent, not a "peep", or a "moo"
and waited for the teacher to walk into the room.

The teacher walked in and she sat at her desk
and immediately noticed there was a cow in the class.
She stared for a second, then took another look;
scratched her head and then said, "alright class open your books."

Well, the kids in the class wondered, "What's going on?"
By now, they figured that cow would be gone,
but their teacher kept teaching, like teachers do best
and by recess, Sally knew the whole alphabet!

Boy! What a cow! What a four legged wonder!
She was great spelling words! She was a genius with numbers!
She could add and subtract, multiply and divide
and at recess she'd take all the kids for a ride.

Well, as you may have guessed or predicted as true,
Sally passed from grade primary, grade one and grade two.
She studied real hard and she made lots of friends
but, for Sally the cow, this wasn't the end.
Her dreams were much greater than anyone knew
and there wasn't anything Sally the cow couldn't do
because she was determined her life would be more
than chewing on grass and doing the chores,
standing in pastures and sleeping in barns
like all of those other cows back on the farm.

So, she kept at her work and as you may depend
the years passed by quickly and she was soon in grade ten,
then onto eleven, then twelve and then she was headed for college,
I know, it's hard to believe.

All the newspapers told of this magnificent cow
who did what for cows was never allowed
they even held a parade, and a party so big
that everyone came, even goats! Even pigs!
They all wanted to meet this magnificent cow
who did what for cows was never allowed
and they cheered and they clapped when Sally arrived
with her college degree and a tear in her eye
she stepped up to the microphone, she nodded her head
and these are the words that our Sally said.

"I'd like to thank everybody for coming today.
To all my wonderful friends who were in the parade
and to anyone else who even once ever dreamt
of living a dream but were told that you can't.
Please pay no attention and keep your dreams strong
because no matter how far and no matter how long
the journey may take you, you'll get there somehow
no matter if you're a girl, a boy or even a cow."

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