The Beach Bull

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By Angie Bromeland

The gulls yelped at the young bull when they first saw him. Never had they seen such a creature so near the shores where they flew and lived. But the bull didn’t mind the gulls in the least. Instead, he continued to explore the area in his steady, controlled manner. It wasn’t long until a week passed, and then a month. Still, the bull was there by the shore. After so long, the gulls were no longer surprised by his presence, so they stopped screeching at him at last. The bull, as it turned out, had escaped from a trailer when he was being moved to a new ranch. He didn’t like how crowded and full the trailer was. And he especially didn’t like the symbol of a bull’s skull painted on it. He could tell it was sunny and bright outside, and he just needed to get out. So when the truck slowed, the bull pushed and pulled at the door until he could squeeze out. The other animals never even noticed. There wasn’t any pasture on which to graze, here at the beach, but the bull found new grasses and leaves to munch on. He became friendly with the gulls. One gull was even so brave as to perch on the bull’s back as he lumbered up and down the beach as if he were on patrol. A few other birds balked at the gull’s folly in befriending the bull. But the gull and the bull didn’t mind in the least. At least they had a friend. Sometimes the bull remembered his old life at the ranch. He would mull over his memories of the other bulls as he lolled about in the sunshine near the shore. He hoped they were as happy in their new home as he was in his.

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