The Cow And The Moon — Part One
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Like every single night, there it was again — up in the sky, lighting up the grim night. Round and shiny, silent like a tomb. “The Moon,” the Humans called it. The animals of the farm knew its name, but they weren’t sure what it really was.
What was its purpose?
When was it born?
What had they done so wrong that it wouldn’t talk to them?
So many unanswered questions. The Moon was a mystery — a mystery only a handful of the farm animals cared about. As for this handful, they gathered behind the chicken coop once a week to discuss their findings. “The Moon Club”, the others had nicknamed them.
Tom and Arnie, the pigs, as stubborn as they were, insisted that the Moon was just an illusion crafted by the Humans. They argued that the Humans liked shiny illusions — they stared at them for hours on that magic box they called “Tee-bee.”
Old Luke, the hound, was a more analytical fella. For him, the answers they were looking for didn’t rely solely on the Moon itself, but also on its big brother the Sun. However, he was a huge fan of the Sun, and they all knew he would say anything to bring it to the conversation.
Then there was Eddy, the goat. He didn’t really have an opinion on the matter. He just attended because the feeder was nearby, and it was a good excuse to eat off-hours.
The animals would ramble about the same theories again and again. Meanwhile, Elsa, the cow, sat in the grass, staring at the Moon. She had an itching fascination with its bright, pale light, as if the Moon sang her a peaceful lullaby.
No matter how much the other animals tried to figure it out, Elsa was convinced the answers lay beyond the gates of the Farm.
Far, far beyond.
The Humans were curious creatures; Elsa knew that well. Every afternoon, she walked all the way from the barn to the Farmer’s house. She walked slowly and steadily, careful not to make that thing she had hanging from her neck clank and alert the Farmer.
Once at the house, Elsa peered through the living room window. There, the Farmer and his family sat on the couch, staring at Tee-bee. It was as shiny as the Moon, except that it talked in many voices. Elsa always wondered why Tee-bee had such a loose tongue and the Moon was so silent. Maybe the Moon just could not speak. Maybe it was like Randy, the tree, and his siblings, the grass, who were born mute.
Elsa had learned many things from Tee-bee — things about the Humans. Tee-bee had taught her that there was a whole world past the fences of the Farm. She had tried many times to tell the others about it, but they argued that she was falling victim to the illusions of the Humans. But regardless of what they said, Elsa would rather learn from Tee-bee than from them. The only thing she learned from them was how stubborn they were.
One day, the Farmer and his family went to bed and Tee-bee stayed up late. This had happened before. Elsa always wondered why Tee-bee kept talking when no one was listening. Then she thought that maybe he was blind and was unaware the Farmer and his family had left. Maybe he knew Elsa was there, listening to him. Whatever his reasons were, what Tee-bee said next changed Elsa’s life forever.
A Human appeared on Tee-bee’s gleaming surface. He looked different than the Farmer — like a penguin with a Human head and a thick moustache.
“With this new mission, NASA will look forward to proving the effects of natural satellites on the tidal forces of the Earth,” Tee-bee spoke with a deep voice.
Natural satellites?
Tidal forces?
The Earth?
Like many times before, Elsa didn’t have a clue what Tee-bee was speaking about. He had a lot of knowledge about everything, but Tee-bee wasn’t very good at getting his message through.
However, his next sentence came hard at Elsa.
“If the weather allows, the shuttle will launch next week. It is expected to reach the Moon after three days of travel.”
Elsa didn’t blink after Tee-bee spoke the last words.
Reach the Moon.
The words echoed in Elsa’s brain, sinking in. The shuttle, whatever that was, would travel to the Moon.
The Moon wasn’t an illusion — it was a place, a faraway place. A day was a long period of time, and getting to the Moon would take three times as long!
After Tee-bee spoke about the shuttle, the images on his bright surface changed. Now it showed a vast field, different from those at the Farm. It didn’t have grass or dirt. It was plain and gray-colored. A large cylinder rose tall from the ground, making nearby Humans look like ants.
Elsa also recognized the thing attached to the side of the huge cylinder. It was like those weird birds she saw crossing the sky in a straight line. Those birds didn’t sing; they spoke with the sounds of the storm instead. They were made by the Humans for a purpose unknown to her.
Was that thing in the cylinder the shuttle Tee-bee spoke about? Elsa wasn’t sure, but she did recognize the symbol painted on it. “NASA,” Tee-bee said any time something with that symbol appeared on its shiny face.
Was NASA a place like the Moon?
She wasn’t sure of that, either.
But whether it was a place or not, the shuttle was going to depart from NASA in a week.
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Edited by Sarah Kolb-Williams
