A Longhorn was trudging down the coast of the river, his dusty orange fur bouncing up and down as it trotted along. He had been looking for food for hours, but all the bugs and animals were hiding in trees and bushes to avoid the sun bearing down on them. All of a sudden, on the other side of the coast, he heard some bushes moving.
Out of the shrubbery came out a Man on top of a Horse. The Man looked quite normal and dressed the part as well.
"Finally, some fresh meat!" the Longhorn thought. "The coastline ends on both sides, and they'll have no choice but to cross! This guy doesn't stand a chance."
"Hey!" he shouted. For the first time, he caught a glimpse of the man. Behind his clean-shaven look, the Longhorn saw a glimpse of confidence in his eyes. But that didn't matter now.
"You're in my territory now," said the Longhorn. "I'm guessing you're trying to cross?"
"Don't worry," said the Man. "We'll be out of your way in a second."
Suddenly, the Horse darted to the right. The Longhorn tried to trap him, but the Horse was simply too fast to stop. The Man and the Horse easily made their way past the Longhorn, and there was no way he would catch up to them. He looked sadly as they trotted off into the horizon.
Another day passed, and the Longhorn grew hungrier with every minute. Suddenly, he saw the Man and the Horse heading back towards him. He knew what to do this time, and he was ready for any sudden moves.
"You really have the nerve to come back here after yesterday?" he said. "There's no way I'm letting you past me this time."
The Man chuckled, as if he already knew what would happen.
"We'll see about that."
The Horse jumped to the right, but this time the Longhorn was prepared. He ran over and tried driving his sharp horns in the horse's side. But when the Longhorn bumped into the Horse, he bounced off and kept going. The Longhorn was rattled and watched as the Man and the Horse went back the way they came.
Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).
Author's Note
I based my story off of "The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man". However, with OU's win over Texas last weekend, I wanted to have a little fun with this story and base it off the Sooners' big win. I changed the characters and the story, but I wanted to keep the part where the antagonist loses in the end because of his arrogance. I also kept the capitalization of the characters because I think that's a good way of giving these animals a more human personality.
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| The Longhorn staring sadly as the Man and Horse escape him time after time. |
This story was quite the homage to the OU Texas win this year. It was a little confusing though. I dont quite understand why the longhorn didn't give a deathly blow to the horse the second time it came across. Nonetheless I loved the imagery in this story, great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Sam!
ReplyDeleteI like the reference to OU football (lol), and I thought this was an interesting adaptation of your original story. I was a little confused about a couple of things, though - why does the Longhorn eat meat, when generally cattle eat grass? Also, what happens at the end to cause the Longhorn to bounce off the Horse's side?
Hi Sam! I had fun reading this story, especially after our recent win over Texas. I liked that you decided to keep the original capitalization how it was because it adds a certain characterization that isn't otherwise present. I was a bit confused on how the Longhorn is unable to harm the Horse during his second try. Have a great rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHello Sam!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that you made this story centered around the OU v. Texas game--all OU students would love to read this. I was curious how the long horn just bumped off the horse? And why was the longhorn trying to eat the horse and the man? I love the imagery to the OU and Texas rivalry though and that the horse and the man "win" in the end.
Hey Sam. I liked your story for this week! It was nice that you incorporated OU/Texas elements into your story. That really made it fun to read! I like that the longhorn loses to the man and the horse both times! I do have a couple questions, though. Why does the longhorn eat meat, when usually cows eat grass? And was he wanting to eat the human or the horse? And why did his horns bounce off the horse at the end?
ReplyDelete