Think you’re having some problems? Take a look at what’s happening on Farmer Pappi’s ranch.
“Not again!” said Farmer Pappi.
He threw his hat on the ground and spouted a few choice words. Another twelve cows, gone. That made three dozen this week. No damage to the fence. No foot prints. No car tracks. Just gone. The cattle rustlers must have airlifted the animals out of the field.
What was left of his herd grazed nearby. If only they could talk. One of the cows pulled leaves off a bush with purple flowers, jostling a swarm of insects. Pappi muttered a few more curses as they fluttered around his head, then shooed the cow away from the plant.
Pappi retrieved his hat as the animal ambled off. A startled moo made him jump. Pappi spun around expecting to see a bandit. The cow stood a few yards away, shaking its head. After another bellow it’s back shimmered and a pair of butterfly shaped wings sprouted. It turned and nosed the strange new appendages then began to move them. After a few tentative flaps, the cow lifted into the air and fluttered away.
Too stunned to react, Pappi stared as it vanished over the hills. Cow’s aren’t supposed to fly. Heavy footsteps and another moo snapped him out of his stupor.
“Oh no you don’t,” he said, shooing three more cows away from the plant.
Pulling out his smart phone he snapped a picture and used the plant identification app. It didn’t take long to figure out the problem. Butterfly bushes were not good cow food.