Hairy Hezekiah Read Free

way across the countryside, avoiding roads and houses, and when dawn broke the following morning, he found himself in the middle of a large field. A number of strange shapes surrounded him.
    They were animals, he could now see, but animals such as he had never set eyes on before. They were quite large, though much smaller than he, and all were black and white in color. They looked curiously at the camel out of their mild eyes. Hezekiah did not feel threatened by these strange beasts.
    â€œExcuse me,” he said. “What are you?”
    The animals looked at one another, shaking their heads in bemusement.
    â€œDon’t you know?” asked one.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWe’re Holsteins.”
    â€œWhat’s a Holstein?”

    â€œA cow.”
    â€œWhat’s a cow?” asked the camel. “I’ve never seen animals like you before.”
    â€œWe ain’t never seen no animals like you before neither,” mooed all the cows. “What on earth are you?”
    â€œI’m a Bactrian camel,” said Hezekiah.
    â€œCome from Bactria, do ‘ee?”

    â€œI suppose so. Like you come from Holstein, I imagine.”
    Before they say something nasty about me, he thought, I’d better say something nice about them.
    â€œYou’re very pretty,” he said. “Can I ask you something?”
    â€œGo on then,” said one of the Holstein cows.
    â€œWell, what are those big things between your back legs? Big things with four other things sticking out?”
    â€œUdders,” they said. “What be them things on your back?”
    â€œHumps,” said the camel. “I store fat in them. What’s in your udders?”
    â€œMilk,” they said.
    â€œWhat for?”
    â€œFor people to drink. They milk us.”
    People, thought Hezekiah. I don’t want them to see me; they’d put me back in the zoo. He decided
he’d ask the cows’ advice, politely of course.
    â€œI wonder,” he said, “if you can help me. You see, I’ve just escaped from the zoo and I don’t want to go back there. I want to find somewhere safe to go, somewhere with lots of space. Do you know of anywhere?”

    The cows looked at one another. Then they looked again at the large, dark, hairy, humped figure of the camel. Then one cow came closer to
Hezekiah and said, “You’re in luck, my friend. There’s a place not far from ‘ere where they do keep all kinds of curious critters. That’s where you do want to go, I reckon.”
    â€œOh,” said Hezekiah. “What is this place?”
    The cow replied, “‘Tis the safari park.”

4

    â€œSafari park?” said Hezekiah. “What does that mean?”
    â€œWell,” said the cow, “we ain’t never bin there, of course, but we do hear tell that ‘tis a fine place to live.”
    â€œPlenty of room for everyone,” said another.

    â€œBit different from your old zoo, I daresay,” said a third.
    â€œHow do I get there?”
    The whole herd of Holsteins turned to look in one direction.
    â€œSee them hills in the distance?” they said. “With a good few trees on ‘em?”

    â€œYes,” replied Hezekiah.
    â€œThat’s the edge of the safari park.”
    â€œOh, thanks, thanks!” cried Hezekiah. “I’ll go there right away, if you’ll all excuse me.”
    â€œBut you can’t get out of this field,” they all said, “till the farmer opens the gate to get us for morning milking.”
    â€œOh, I don’t need a gate,” said the camel. “I’ll go out the same way as I came in. Through the hedge.”
    What a day it was for the farmers of that part of Somerset! Since he had left the hills in the darkness, Hezekiah had wreaked a trail of havoc through the countryside. Hedges and fences and gates that kept cows and sheep and horses in were no match for the size and strength