Belinda, a Special Friend

When Mom Mom was a little girl, I lived on a farm.  My daddy milked 60 cows in the morning and at night. When I was only eight years old , it was my job to be in the milk room at 4:00 pm every afternoon to set up the milking machines and help my brothers to clean the scuttles behind the cows. Later, we had to pitch the hay down from the hay mow for our father to feed the cows.  There were also chickens to feed and eggs to collect. There was always work to be done on the farm.

When I was nine years old, my daddy give me a little calf all to myself.  I named her Belinda.  Every morning before I went to school, I would get up, dress in my barn cloths and go out to the barn to feed Belinda.  I would give her a big hug around her neck, come back in the house and dress for school.

 I loved Belinda.  She was my best friend.  I thought a lot about her during school and could hardly wait to get home and play.  My daddy asked me if I would like to take Belinda to a 4-H fair in the Spring.  I thought that it would be a great idea.  He said that I would have to work hard to get her ready.  Every day I had to wash her all over with tide detergent, using Clorox  to wash out the stains on her sides and tail..  She would get real messy after sleeping in her pen at night.  She was the cleanest calf in the barn.  My daddy said that I was doing a good job, but I had to start training her if I wanted to take her to the fair.  By the time I took her to the fair, she had grown into a  beautiful young heifer.


The first time I put a halter on Belinda, she did not like it at all!  She yanked me all over the barn yard until I got her under control.  Finally, Belinda surrendered and I was able to lead her slowly around. She followed me very well. I really felt that she would be a blue ribbon winner at the fair.

Belinda and I never got to the fair that year because Belinda got very sick.  One morning my daddy called me into the kitchen.  We sat down together and he told me that Belinda was going blind and would not be able to go to the 4-H fair. I started to cry,"Daddy, you've got to help her.  She can't go blind."


My daddy took me out to see Belinda.  She was laying down, so helpless.  He showed me the red in her eyes and that it was contagious to other heifers.  Daddy had to separate her from the rest of the cows. But, he did have some good news.  He told me, "Belinda is going to have a baby this Fall" 


I didn't now what to say. Was I going to be a grandma an aunt or what?  I grabbed Belinda around the neck and said,"You can't go blind, not now!"  Belinda looked up at me and licked my hand to let me know how  much she loved me.  "Belinda, you are going to have a baby and I will help you to get around."


That Saturday Belinda left the barn and was put into a special pen outside.  She was quarantined, and left alone in her world of darkness.  I was her only light.  My daddy made me keep her away from the other cows until she would have her baby calf.


Late in September Belinda had her baby calf.  I was in school at the time.  When I got home and went to see to Belinda, there laying beside her was the most beautiful black and white baby calf.  "Oh Belinda," I exclaimed, "I wish you could see your sweet baby.  She looks just like you.  I am going to name her Chloe."


After Chloe was born, daddy had to take Belinda away before she infected her baby.  I never knew where she went, but my daddy told me that it was the best place for her.  I never saw Belinda again. 

Chloe,s mother wasn't there to nurse her, so I fed her special milk with a big bottle. I  felt that I had to be Chloe's mother.  I spoiled Chloe so much. I even trained her to come up to the kitchen window to eat Ritz crackers out of my hand. 


Chloe wasn't like her mother, and she wasn't afraid of  anything. She grew into a beautiful heifer that I was able to take to the 4-h fairs where She won many blue ribbons. After a day at the fair, Chloe and I would go out into the meadow and I would tell her stories about her mother. I know Belinda would of been so proud of her.

The pictures are not the original, but the closest that I could find to tell the story.