This story was submitted by listener Olivia Lee in response to the 2023 Spring Writing Challenge.
Lisa the Cow and Her Missing Spots
By Olivia Lee
In California at Miss Lu’s farm, there was a cow named Lisa. Lisa was a cow who loved adventures. Not many cows liked adventures. Most of them spent their days eating grass. But Lisa was different. But different isn’t bad.
On a Saturday morning, when Miss Lu was at the market, Lisa looked around and saw lots of cows as usual. But this time, she noticed something. All the cows had spots. Lisa looked at the cows and then herself. Lisa had NO SPOTS!!!
Lisa’s eyes sprinkled with tears. “Where did my spots go?” Lisa sobbed. “All the cows won’t like me!”
Suddenly, Lisa had an idea! “I’ll go find my spots,” Lisa said.
And she was off! Running as fast as her legs could carry her. She jumped over the fence! She crossed the river! And then . . . she went to a road. She followed it, determined to find her spots!
After some time walking, she came to a place with a sign that read, “ZOO.” “Hmm,” Lisa thought. “Zoos are really big. So maybe my spots went there!”
Lisa’s body suddenly filled with hope. Lisa marched right in. At first, she was a little afraid. But then she realized the animals were in cages. Then she saw a sign that said, “CLOSED.”
“Whew!” Lisa sighed, thinking if they saw a cow walking around, they’d put her in a cage or worse, feed her to the other animals. This thought made Lisa shiver. She’d have to move quickly before the zoo opened.
“Leopards have spots, maybe my spots are with the leopards!” Lisa thought. Lisa walked until she found the cat exhibit. She walked in and saw mountain lions, cougars, and tigers, but no leopards. Then, Lisa came to a pit with a lion and a lioness. The lioness was whimpering. Lisa thought she was hungry and that’s why she was whimpering. Suddenly, the lioness licked her lips. This made Lisa so scared that she slipped and fell in!
“Ahhh!” Lisa screamed all the way to the bottom. Lisa landed right on top of the lion!
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! Lisa said in a shaky voice. “I didn’t mean to; I slipped.” Lisa quickly got off the lion. The lion stood up and growled at Lisa.
“Uh-oh,” Lisa thought to herself. Lisa thought it was the end.
But then, a female voice cried out! “Joshua, no! Look at the poor thing! It’s scared to death.”
“But, honey, she landed on me!”
“True, but you heard her; she slipped.”
“Fine!” And with that, the lion walked into a cave and went to sleep.
The lioness whimpered again. Lisa gained courage to say, “What’s wrong?”
“Oh,” began the lioness. “I walked around, and I stepped on a thorn! My husband tried to get it out but couldn’t. And when the people came in, they never noticed.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lisa said. “Maybe I can help you.”
“Really?” asked the lioness.
“Yeah,” replied Lisa.
“Okay,” said the lioness, who lifted her paw and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Ready?” asked Lisa.
“Yes,” said the lioness.
Yank! “It’s out!” said Lisa pulling it with her teeth.
“And it didn’t even hurt. Thank you!” said the lioness. “Now to make it even, I should warn you, the wolves are always getting out of their cage. So if you need help, call out, ‘Lions,” okay?”
“Yes,” said Lisa. “But just two lions might not b enough for a pack of wolves.”
“Oh, there’s seven of us, counting Joshua and me,” said the lioness.
“Thanks a lot,” said Lisa.
“No problem at all, but I’ve never seen a something like you wondering around the zoo before. Why did you come here?” asked the lioness.
“I am a cow, but my spots are missing, so I came here to look for my spots,” Lisa burst out. “Have you seen them?”
“No, I have not, but I’m sure they’re around the zoo,” said the lioness. “By the way, my name is Lorla.”
“Nice to meet you, Lorla,” said Lisa. “Now I should really be going. How do I get out of the lion pit?”
“LION STACK!” screamed Lorla. A few seconds later, a pack of lions came out and stacked up, including Joshua and Lorla.
“Climb!” yelled one of the lions. Lisa climbed to the very top and jumped. She made it!
“Thank you!” cried Lisa.
“No problem,” answered Lorla.
Lisa trotted off, still determined to find her spots. Lisa looked all over the zoo but couldn’t find her spot anywhere. So, feeling discouraged, Lisa dragged herself to the front of the zoo. But then she heard howling, and then growling! And suddenly a huge, grey wolf jumped in front of her!
“AHHHHH!” Lisa screamed.
“Why hello there little one. You’re not from the zoo, are you?” said the wolf.
“No, I am not,” said Lisa, trembling as she backed away from the wolf.
“Well then, you should know, you should never disagree with the wolf pack,” said the wolf smirking. Then, he started the howl, calling over more wolves.
“It’s dinner time!” one of the wolves cried.
“You found a big load of meat!” another wolf barked.
Lisa was frozen in fear. Suddenly, the wolf leader jumped at Lisa, but she dodged it. Lisa knew the only chance of escape was if she ran for it, so she did! But the wolves ran after her, close behind. After running this and that way, Lisa came to a dead end. She was ready for defeat until she remembered…the lions!
“The lions told me to call for them if I was ever in trouble! LIONS! LIONS! LIONS!” Lisa screeched.
Quickly, a pack of lions came dashing out of the shadows and began attacking the wolves, with Lisa fighting also. After a tremendous battle, the wolves were defeated. Lisa thanked the lions for their help. “Thank you, without your help I would have been a goner,” she said as they walked her out of the zoo.
Lisa walked home, thinking about all the amazing things she had done that day and she felt pretty good, until she remembered, she still had not found her spots. She walked across the field to find her mother and asked for her help. When she got to her mother, Lisa was nearly in tears.
“What’s wrong, darling?” Lisa’s mother asked.
“I went to go find my spots, I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find them. What will the other cows think? A cow is not a cow without its spots!” Lisa sobbed.
“Oh honey, I wish you had come to me sooner. Wipe those tears and look at this,” Lisa’s mother said as she opened up a family photo book.
Lisa looked in amazement seeing herself in the pictures. In all the pictures she was … spotless! “So, my spots aren’t missing?” Lisa asked.
“No, honey, they aren’t missing. You’ve never had spots,” Lisa’s mother replied.
“Oh,” Lisa said sadly.
“My sweet Lisa,” Lisa’s mother began. “Here’s something you need to remember:
Being different isn’t bad,
it shouldn’t make you upset or sad.
Being different is unique and good,
and learning that is an important part of childhood.”
After hearing this, Lisa began to smile. Lisa remembered this her entire, happy life.
And to you, dear reader, you should know, if you are different, don’t be upset. Instead, always remember that being different is special, because it’s what make you, you!
THE END