Storytelling, Week 11: Owen's Farm

     Many miles off of Arkansas' highway fifty-five is a small town named Rockton. Many miles from the main street of Rockton is Owen's Farm. Owen's Farm is a place where horses gallop around the grassy plains, chickens lay their eggs in a nice wooden coop, pigs wrestle in their muddy pens, and cows eat the thick green grass that grows on the west end of the farm. The daytime life on Owen's Farm is exciting and full of cheer. However, as soon as the sun sets beyond the horizon the dynamic of Owen's Farm changes.

     Each summer night, three pairs of ominous yellow eyes watch from the forest as the farm animals retreat into their nightly hiding places. These pairs of eyes belong to a group of three coyote brothers. These brothers have been watching Owen's Farm since the first leaf sprouted in spring. In the past, they have successfully taken chicken and pigs in the night back to their forest den. However, their goal now is to hunt the sheep.

     Months ago when the coyotes arrived Farmer Owen reinforced all the fencing around the pens, but the coyotes noticed a weak spot. There is a small hole in the fence of the sheep's field big enough for the coyotes to squeeze through. For days the predators have watched the sheep's behavior and each night the sheep would huddle into circles of four.

     This night, the coyotes decide to finally hunt for their prize. The three brothers slowly enter the field and choose a group of four sheep. The coyotes jump from the grass and scare the group, however, only one sheep runs from the group. The coyotes catch this poor sheep and drag it into the forest. With only three sheep left, they become nervous of the predators. The coyotes return and do their same trick and, like last time, one sheep runs from the group. The coyotes catch the second poor sheep and drag it into the forest.

     The coyotes return and glance at the two sheep shaking timidly under the moonlight. Once again, the coyotes jump from the grass and scare the sheep. One sheep runs across the field until the coyotes catch it and drag the poor animal into the forest. Finally, the coyotes return for the last sheep. However, they cannot find the last sheep. They search the entire field until they see the sheep shaking with fear in front of a corner of the fence. The coyotes smile and pounce on the helpless sheep.

"Divide and conquer."

Sheep

Author's Note:

     I wrote this story as an adaption from a story within Aesop's Fables: Lions. The story I chose to base my storytelling post off of was The Lion and the Bulls. In the original version, a lion hunts bulls by extracting one away from the other. Finally, the lion has successfully hunted all the bulls. I chose to use coyote and sheep to give the story a much more "farm" setting. I liked the moral of the original story in that "divide and conquer" usually succeeds.

Fables and Satires

Brooke Boothby (1809)