Hill Stones

In a lush, green, and rolling pasture a lone cow watched as it chewed lackadaisically.

The cow had never had much interest in the affairs of humans; besides the force behind the prod of a farm hand, or the hand temperature of the milk maid.

But as it watched, it grew mildly inquisitive.

For struggling mighty, two strapping men lumbered up the opposite slopes of two hills that rolled into one another. Both men pushing massive boulders, larger than themselves, away from each other.

Grunting and sweating, the two made slow progress up the hill sides, making only brief stops to rest against their respective stones.

Almost the entire morning it took them to labour up the hillsides. Usually the cow would have moved along to the fields on the other side of the hill to the west, to spend the rest of the day grazing in the warm afternoon sun. But it had decided to stay, eating and watching these two interesting humans in their odd tasks.

By noonday they had both reached the top of their hills and had steadied the boulders atop the level plateaus. They each slumped and sat against their boulders, huffing and puffing from their exertions.

After a moments rest, the man on the north hill stood and waved to his counterpart on the opposite hilltop, whom stood, waved back, and yelled something in response.

They then went around to the back of the heavy boulders, positioned their broad shoulders against the curve of the rocks, and yelled to each other loudly.

The cow, its cud chewing forgotten for the moment, stood and watched what happened next.

The two men, their arm and leg muscles straining underneath their simple leather hide outfits, pushed the great stones back down the hillsides they had spend the entire morning pushing them up.

Finally sending them off with great pushes, the men both fell to their knees with the force of their efforts, and watched with excited grins as the two boulders bounced and picked up speed as they careened down the hills towards each other.

All three spectators watched with anticipation as the massive round stones rolled ever faster down. Until, with a shattering crash, they smashed into each other in an explosion of stone chips and dust.

Shouting and cheering came from each of the men on the hilltops as they jumped up and danced jigs in celebration of their job well done. While the cow, only cocked its big head to the side inquisitively.

The pile of rubble from the collision lay scattered in small valley at the foot of the hills as the cow looked from the debris to the hooting and hollering men and back again.

Its cud chewing recommenced after sometime and it began to make its way towards the west side pastures. The bell fastened to the leather strap around its thick neck jiggling rhythmically as it sauntered along the cool grass.

the metal clanging pounded in its large head which was throbbing with a headache. A little from the effort of trying to figure out what the purpose of all that had just happened was; but mostly from the annoyance of having stayed to witness it.

How the human race had gotten the upper hand, the cow would never know.