Children this is the tale
Of an erroneous philosopher
Stating animals were machines,
Therefore had no souls, no feelings.
Every day, we passed a huge Clydesdale
You know the kind used for beer cartage
It was lonely in his paddock
But for his owner, making sure
It had enough water and feed
It looked at us indifferently
From the other side of the paddock
Ignoring any treat in the form of apple or carrot
We tried to bribe him with.
One day an Arabian mare
Became its neighbour in the next paddock
It ignored her too.
She took to us and our daily treats
As soon as she saw us she would gallop
And greet us, you know how, Don't you ?
Shake of the head and swish of the tail.
One day while we were dispensing our treat
The earth trembled, we turned around
And believe me, Children
There's nothing more terrifying
I repeat nothing more terrifying
Than a mature Clydesdale in a gallop
Charging upon you !
It stopped a bare metre from us
Stomping his left leg
We stood our ground
It was looking at the mare
Crunching her first juicy apple with relish
I happened to have one more in my pocket
Split it into two bits and presented one to him
He sniffed it and turned his head away
I gave it to the mare , he looked on her
Suddenly seeing the second half in my hand
He pushed it , one does not resist
I dropped the apple
He went to retrieve it , and munched on it
His reaction was of one of surprised delight,
He looked at me again, searching my hands
Making sure I was not hiding anything
Then trotted away in disgust.
The following day when we approached
He crossed directly , waiting for us
When he smelt the apple in my pocket
He stood over me , swishing his tail
Until I gave it to him,
He didn't appreciate that I offered one
To the friendly Arabian horse.
But after a few days we could see them
Waiting together on each side of the fence
For our treat.
What does this tells you?
If an animal shows signs of
Envy, gluttony and greed
It demonstrates it is not a machine,
That Descartes was an ass!
Lucette C. Bailliet
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