Talking Cows

         Joe awoke before the alarm clock went off in the early morning hours.  He got dressed and went into the kitchen where the coffee was waiting for him, thanks to the automatic feature on his coffee maker.  It was still dark out as he let himself out of the house, but he could've crossed the yard to the barn blindfolded he had done it so many times in his fifty seven years of life.  As he drew closer to the barn the mooing of the cows started to sound different.  He paused to listen and then blinked in disbelief.  It sounded like the last cow had said destruction.  Impossible!  He opened the barn doors and threw on the light.  For a second the cows were all quiet as he walked down the isle.  When he had reached the middle of the isle, where his favorite cow Daisy resided, he reached out to give her a quick pat.  She looked up at him, opened her mouth and said "Death".  Joe jumped back so fast he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground.  Before he could get back to his feet, all the cows started to talk and he sat there stunned listening as "Blood", "Death", "Evil", "Destruction", "Anti-Christ", "End World" swirled around him and rose to a crescendo.  He finally couldn't stand it anymore, slapping his hands over his ears he got to his feet and ran out of the barn.  His heart racing, he ran into the house and slammed the door shut behind him.  This couldn't be happening!  Was he losing his mind?  Cows don't talk.  After calming himself down and thinking about it logically, he reasoned that he must have let his imagination get the best of him.  "You're getting senile, old man!" He mumbled to himself, shaking his head.  He went back outside to the barn.  As he got nearer, he took a deep breath and braced himself before entering the barn once again. 
"There!  You see, just your imagination." He uttered in a relieved tone as he eyed the placid cows.  As one, the cows looked towards him, opened their mouths and blasted him with the words "Evil, Blood, Death, End world".  With the word "Anti-Christ" ringing in his ears he ran screaming from the barn.
"My God, are they predicting the end of the world?  Is this a miracle from God?"  The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.  Running to the phone he called his nearest neighbor. 
         Joe watched the tail lights of his friend’s pickup as he drove away from him.  He knew Al  thought he was having a nervous breakdown or getting senile, but he was  wrong.  The cows were predicting the horrible future that awaited mankind.  He had to do something!  But what?  Joe thought about it all day, while pacing around his house.  He couldn't bring himself to go to the barn at all.  The next morning he woke up with an idea.  If he sold the cows to the slaughter house, that would put an end to the prophesying.  It would change the future.
         "That's our only hope!  Maybe if they stop, it won't come true." Joe hurried out of bed and went to the phone to call the slaughter house.

         Around ten o'clock that morning a cattle truck pulled onto his property and got ready to load the cows.  Joe watched the faces of the men carefully for any reaction to what the cows were saying but there was nothing.  He couldn't believe noone else seem to understand the cows and was vastly relieved when they had the last one loaded.  As the truck fired up and slowly pulled away, he could hear them moaning "death, destruction, blood, hate, evil" until it pulled far enough away that he could hear them no more.  Ah, the peace and quiet!  He went slowly into the barn and started to clean up the place. 
         A year later, every trace of the cows were gone.  Joe had decided not to replace the herd.  He didn't want anything with a mouth around him again so he had planted his fields with corn.  He stood for a moment admiring the tall green stalks with a smile on his face.  Just then a light breeze rustled the corn stalks and a single word whispered in his ear, "Listen".