2023/2024
Collection 19

Lady, the Hero

1960; near Delta, Ohio, USA

Near a small, peaceful, quiet town surrounded by cornfields, there is a small little house, and in that house there is a boy, my grandpa — a little boy named Dan. He lives with his loving family and a dog, Lady. The small little house is on a farm with many animals, such as cows, chickens, and horses.

On a late summer day Dan, the three-year-old boy, is doing his housework. He feeds the chickens, he feeds the horses, and he goes off on a dirt trail to feed the cows. Dan gets there and finds a big muddy area. He tries his best to go around it, but it is no match for a little boy. Dan gets stuck — first his boots, then his legs. He can’t move! He cries out for help for minutes, but nobody hears him. The cows hear his cries for help and swarm him, sniffing and almost stepping on the small little three-year-old boy.

When Dan thinks nobody is coming and all hope is lost, he tries to get out of the mud himself. He stretches his leg as far as he can. His sock flies off and gets stuck in the sticky mud. He does the same thing with his other leg. Fwoop! he hears as his sock comes off his foot. He tries his best to get out of the mud, but it’s no use. The cows are all around him, and he cannot risk being stepped on if he would go under the cows’ legs. All Dan can do is scream for help.

After a few minutes of crying out for help, he hears a bark. Lady, his blond German shepherd, has come to help him. Lady starts nipping and barking at the cows and scaring them off. The cows back away from Dan. As Lady is standing next to Dan, his parents come and help him out of the mud.

If Lady had not been there, Dan’s parents would not have known that he was in a “sticky” situation. Lady truly saved the day.

Gemma Vanni; Ohio, USA

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