The Cow Over The Rainbow
By Angelica Bautista Viloria
December 03, 2000

THUD!

The farm ground shook as Candid the Cow dropped on all fours. Looking frustrated, Candid silently mooed: " Foiled again. I'm still stuck on this farm."

The other animals were in a tizzy. It was that crazy cow again, trying to escape from the inevitable.

"Why can't she behave like any normal cow?" neighed Habitual the Horse, as he tried to move his hooves to position his shoes properly. "Why must she always try to get on that rainbow?"

Pavid the Pig, all filled with mud, and Coward the Chicken repeatedly shook their heads as they stared at Candid.

"What?" Candid asked. "What's so strange about wanting to get on that rainbow?"

"I'll tell you what," bleated Safe the Sheep, as she waited for her next wool cut. "There are no cows over the rainbow. Cows belong on a farm, not on some multi-colored arch. A cow jumping over the moon, that's plausible. But a cow over the rainbow? You must be really mad."

Candid looked at her farm acquaintances and knew in her heart that they would never understand. How could they? She was just so different. She was tired of being just a black and white cow. She was bored with just mooing and grazing and giving milk. There must be more to life than being on a farm. Life is so full of color. "One day, I am going to reach that rainbow."

Just as she muttered those words, Candid suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep her away. Either that or she had probably willed herself to jump higher than she ever did as she could see stunned farm animal faces getting smaller and smaller. She could hear them saying: "Look, Candid is heading for the" She missed out on the end of the sentence just as her farm acquaintances turned into mini-dots.

THUD!

Candid had landed on some strange place filled with light and color. As she went up the arch which glowed with tints of red, orange, yellow, green, violet, indigo, and blue, a thought hit her: "Wait a second, it can't be? Am I really"

Just as she was about to finish what she was saying, Candid heard a beautiful tune playing. Where was it coming from? Candid slowly plodded on searching for the source of the wonderful melody and there he was, a cat playing the fiddle, producing the most lovely song a cow's ears had ever heard.

"Hi, I'm Candid," Candid shyly interrupted the maestro in motion.

"Hello, you must be a newcomer around here. You don't look too familiar. I'm Capable the Cat."

"Capable, would you mind telling me where I am? Have I really landed on aÂ…"

"Yup, this is Rainbow Garden, a place where you can grow your dreams. This is the perfect location to do all the nice things that you wanted badly enough but which everyone told you you couldn't do. "

"Why are you here?" Candid asked Capable.

"Why am I here?" meowed Capable. "Well, I was tired of being just a black and white cat. I got bored with fighting dogs, chasing after rats, and playing with a ball of white yarn with other cats in our clowder. I told myself, 'There must be more to life than being in a house.' Life is so full of color and music. So here I am, playing my fiddle on this rainbow."

Candid was glad she had made a friend, "I knew this rainbow was really for me. I better leave you to play your music. See you around."

Candid excitedly walked along some more, happy to be where she wanted to be. "Hmm, this whole place seems to be happy along with me, I hear laughter all around."

"Yes, we are all happy here," chuckled Daring the Dalmatian.

"Hi," Candid replied, introducing herself. " You seem to be very amused with something."

"Oh yes," Daring said. " You should have seen it earlier. Today was the finals of the high jump for the cowlympics. They were trying to see who could jump over the moon the highest. I love sports. In fact, if you look into my box over there, you'll see some of my other favorite toys, my ball and my bowling set. "

"So, what brings you to Rainbow Garden?" Candid asked.

"Well, I was tired of being just a black and white dog. I got bored with eating bones, chasing after cats, and appearing in books and black and white movies with the rest of the pack, a hundred of them to be exact. I told myself 'There must be more to life than being here.' Life is so full of color and motion. So, here I am, watching and doing sports on this rainbow."

Candid was glad she had met another happy friend. "I knew this rainbow was really for me. I better give you time to play your favorite sports. See you tomorrow."

Candid moved along until she met Zestful the Zebra. "What's your story Zestful?" queried Candid. "What brings you to Rainbow Garden?"

"Well, I was tired of being just a black and white zebra. I got bored with zoos and safaris. I told myself 'There must be more to life than being in this cage with the rest of the stripe.' Life is so full of color. So, here I am, on this rainbow."

Candid walked with Zestful until they finally met up again with Daring and Capable. The day was about to end but the animals were contented and happy.

Life on Rainbow Garden was good. Different, but good. It was a place to grow your dreams and do all the nice things you wanted badly enough but which everyone told you you couldn't do.

Candid, Zestful, Daring, and Capable tried to stifle their yawns but their eyes grew heavier and heavier. Night had fallen and the animals dozed off to sleep. They were tired, but happy and already looking forward to the next day, which would bring new things, challenges, and surprises.

As the animals lay sleeping on Rainbow Garden, the Blue Moon which also shone every night, slowly hoisted himself up into the sky. He smiled as he moved his moon spotbeam to see the multi-colored cow who could jump so high, the colorful cat who could play the fiddle, the kaleidoscopic-dotted dog who was a sports enthusiast and finally, the rainbow-striped zebra who just wanted to be. Blue Moon was happy. The animals were happy. Life is so full of color and dreams do grow.

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