New arrival Popcorn, or “Po,” the goat with white pup Moses. (Photo courtesy Katherine Dunn)
“I like your hair,” said Moses, the giant white pup.
“Thank you, it’s all natural,” said the large goat, towering above Moses.
“I didn’t see you yesterday?” asked Moses.
“I arrived last night with my mates. Our home was sold so we were told we could come here,” said the goat. “My name is Popcorn, but you can call me Po.”
“I’m Moses, but you can call me Mose if you want. Mrs. Dunn calls me Muppet, but I still don’t know what that is,” said Moses. “Your leg is all crooked.”
“Yes, I’m old and crippled,” said the old goat. “I’m all crooked and bent now.”
“I think you are very unique!” said Moses. “Our old apple tree has bent branches too!”
Suddenly, a loud honking sound came echoing through the barn. Moses lifted his ears and remained brave and curious, but inched closer to Po.
“Don’t worry about those geese. I’ve lived with them for years – they won’t harm you. Just don’t take their eggs,” said Po.
The five long-necked creatures came waddling in a straight line, honking loud with their heads held high.
“We are The Winstons! We are The Winstons!” they all said at once.
“I’m Moses,” said the pup.
“I am the Boss Winston. Stay away from my ladies’ egg, little chap, or there will be trouble,” the boss goose said. The lady Winstons honked and swirled their long necks in agreement.
“Why do you all have the same name?” asked Moses.
Po started to chuckle. “I can tell you that story, Moses. One day the owner was trying to get an animal into the barn, and the animal’s name was Winston. They were calling, ‘Winston! Winston!’ and tossing delicious food around to entice him to the barn.”
The lady geese honked and honked, and the boss goose said, “It appeared that being a Winston got you delicious food, so we decided to be Winstons too!”
“Makes sense to me,” said Moses.
Earnest the pig came wandering by, and Moses jumped up and down in joy. Everyone loves Earnest.
“Earnest! Aren’t Po’s crooked legs beautiful, just like Old Apple’s branches?” asked the pup.
“Yes, Mose, they certainly are,” said the pig.
Moses, Po, and the pig began walking out into the sun. The winter was ending and they could feel the ground again. They came upon the old, semiblind one-eyed pony, Marcel.
“Good morning, everyone. I can’t see much but I can feel the sun,” said the old pony.
The pig, the pup, the crippled goat, and the blind pony all slowly lay down in the sun.
“It’s a beautiful day, so quiet and peaceful,” said Earnest the pig.
The group members shut their eyes and were on the verge of a good nap, when they were roused awake by honking of The Winstons who were waddling by.
“Did we wake you?” asked the boss goose. “So sorry,” and they waddled off again.
The old goat rolled his eyes, and everyone once again focused on napping. Everyone, that is, except Moses, who had run off to the manure pile.
“Gotta go, guys! The horse poop is thawing. Delicious!” the pup said.
(Katherine Dunn, of Apifera Farm in Bremen, is an artist and writer. Apifera, a nonprofit, takes in elderly and special-needs animals and shares them with elder people. Learn more at katherinedunn.us.)
