Cows don’t go to school
The best
friend of Beto was his cow Paca. It sounds weird that it was a cow, but Beto
lived in a farm surrounded by animals. Even more, Paca the cow had saved his
life, and that is a thing you don’t forget…
It occurred
when Beto was only 3 years old. He was playing ball next to a den of rabbits
when the ball shot toward the road. Beto ran after it right at the moment when
a truck filled with bushels of wheat was passing by. Paca the cow, who grazed
tranquilly in the next meadow, saw the whole scene, and left running towards
the boy.
The driver,
who had not seen Beto, so small and fast, was stunned to see this enormous cow
running towards the road. And stopped short.
That was
the beginning of a very special friendship. Beto spent hours with Paca the cow,
he only drank the milk that came from her utters, and sometimes, when he
couldn’t sleep, he snuggled with her. At her side he was never scared.
Because of
this, no one was surprised to see them always together. They were as thick as
thieves, so close that it seemed impossible to tell where ended Beto’s smile
and where began the playfully wagging tail of Paca the cow. And so it always
was, until Beto grew up and had to go to school.
The school
was in the city and was very big. It was full of boys and girls, but didn’t
have rabbits, nor meadows, nor horses, and of course no Paca the cow. Why could
he not take his friend to school, share a desk and play together at recess?
– Because
she is a cow, Beto – Mama told him – cows don’t go to school, nor do they do
chores, nor do they trade cards at recess.
But Beto
insisted so much that Mama finally agreed. And Beto came the following day
mounted on his cow Paca. All the kids wanted to pet her, play with her, drink
her milk and climb her back.
But, after
a while, Paca the cow tired of grazing that cement meadow and decided to sit.
Nothing more occurred than sitting herself right under one of the goals of the
soccer field:
– With her
as goalie; we will win all the games! – exclaimed an enthusiastic Beto.
But the
opposing team quickly tired of playing with Paca the cow.
– This is
unfair, we want a goalie our size!
– So wins
either…
– This is
cheating
So Beto had
no choice but to convince Paca the cow to move from the goal.
– It will
be better to stay in the hallway – he said – because now I have math class and
I can’t stay with you.
Paca the
cow obeyed Beto and remained tranquilly lying in the hallway, but after a
while, she began to tire of staying there alone and began to call to her
friend. The moos of the cow were so strong that the teacher Daniel had to stop
the class.
– What is
this scandal? We cannot continue the class like this…
And he left
for the hallway to see what happened. Paca the cow was very content to finally
see someone with whom to talk…she was so bored there alone! So happy was she,
that with all her affection, she licked the bald shiny head of the teacher
Daniel.
– Aaaaagh.
How disgusting! This is a shame. Take this cow home.
And there
went Beto and Paca the cow, very rueful for having orchestrated all of this
mess. Carmen, the principal, almost had a fit when she saw Paca the cow enter
the door to her office.
– What is a
cow doing here?
– It’s just
that she is my best friend and I wanted to bring her to learn about school,
about my other friends, about the professors…
The
principal saw how hopeful Beto was, and how embarrassed the poor cow was, that
she had an idea.
– Beto, the
school is not a place for a cow. Your friend has to stay in our farm while you
are in class. But since she has already come here, let’s teach all the kids…
Carmen’s
idea was simple: give a class that no alumnus would ever forget again. Paca the
cow, Beto and Carmen were passing through all the classes. Carmen taught them
all that there was to know about cows and about the animals like her: the
mammals. Further, many children milked a cow for the first time, discovered how
cows ate, what customs they had and how they lived. It had been the best kind
of knowledge of the environment they all had ever had.
When the
day ended, Beto and Paca the cow returned to the farm and told all to Mama,
who, with the face that mothers always wear when they are about to tell you
something important, affirmed:
– I already
told you, Beto. Cows don’t go to school.
