You Can Lead a Horse to Water

Lead a Horse to Water



The Pattersons owned a farm some ways up from the river.  There was a path from the house and a green field that led to a river.  Most often the pump brought water up from the river but today it was broken.  The family could sense the absence of that sound and the father, Frederick, went down to look at it.

As usual the river flowed peacefully and gently.  It was almost hypnotising to look at.  The pump was definitely broken, probably from old age.  He hauled the hose onto the shore and looked at it as if it were a dead dog.  The pump had served him for ten years.  Now it was broken and dead.

He walked back up the trail and went inside, announcing the pump was broken.  The boys just looked at him, wondering if this intended more work.  There were thirty two cows and four horses that needed water.  Frederick looked at them briefly and they understood.

The boys were Frank and Ferris and they were two years apart.  Both grew up with angelic blonde hair that turned to brown later.  Their faces were kind and polite, and sometimes derisive when it was appropriate.  They loved and respected their father and called him pa affectionately.

There was a daughter too, named Sherry.  She was a year younger than Frank.  She helped out inside the house with her mother, Claire.  There was an endless number of things to do, like mopping the floors, doing the dishes, preparing the three meals, doing the laundry, cleaning the tables and surfaces, and more.

Both Frank and Ferris helped their Dad in the summer with things on the farm.  Today the horses and cows needed to go to the river for water, three times.  The father called one of the horses nearby and grabbed the halter.  He said to the boys, “Let Prinsella lead the team to the river.  Don’t let them stray from the path.  That’s what a stick is for.”

Frank took Prinsella by the halter and straddled her, then corralled the cows and horses.  Ferris got on Rosy and followed the pack.  Stubbornly they went in dumb agreement, slowly and gradually.  Frank led them down the shaded path and Ferris watched them from the back.

Frank got off Rosy and let her drink from the river.  Soon all the cows and horses were taking turns drinking from the river.  The river was cool and the water was clean.

Frank said to Ferris, “Get us a couple of buckets and we’ll bring some up for lunch.  Ferris listened and turned his horse around and rode up the path to fetch a couple of plastic buckets.

After about a half hour of drinking and wading in the river Ferris came back with two white buckets.  By the shore he stepped in and filled up the two buckets in the water.  Then he took a rope from off the horse and slung the two buckets over the back of the horse.  Ferris looked in the water and the sun shining on it and the cows and horses getting along, drinking water.

Frank said, “How the hell are we going to get them out of here?  They love it too much here.”

“They’ll come.  As soon as one comes they’ll all come.”

Frank went in to the water up to his knees and grabbed the halter from the horse.  The horse and his huge neck pulled back but his feet came and soon he was on land.  Frank straddled him and let the horse take a few steps back to give space for the cows and horses coming back in.

Soon they came, sluggishly, after fully enjoying the water.  Ferris got on his horse with the two buckets in the back and made way up the path.  The shade was nice and his horse was quiet after a good drink in the river, climbing steadily upwards.

All the cows and horses marched in past the fence and took up position on the pasture to chew grass and mill about.  Ferris unslung the two buckets from Rosy and slung the rope around his shoulder and marched in.  He was smiling when he came in.  His mother said, “Oh, good.  You brought some water.”

“Should be enough until later, Mom.”

“Good, dear.  We’ve got lunch ready for you.”

They said a prayer before they ate and then chewed down.  There was a cross in the living room and it was the quietest part of the house.  The family went to church every Sunday at nine in the morning.  They weren’t ecstatic about their faith but believed religion to be the backbone of man.  Those who didn’t believe were left in the dust.

A conversation started at the dinner table.  Soon everybody was taking part and laughing.  It was daylight savings time and people were saying they’d lost another hour after gaining one last spring.  Frederick said he’d adjust his watch until they gave him another free hour.

Later the women were doing the dishes and chatting with ease.  By three o’clock they were done and played a game of cards.  They loved to play Hearts and sometimes Gin.

The boys and their father were out on the field, tuning up the old tractor.  Frederick treated both boys differently.  Ferris was a boy that was just happy with the allotment of time given to him.  Frank demanded more from himself.  And he was a good judge of character.  When he looked up at his father’s eyes he could see the lights working inside and listened closely.

Ferris was in grade eight that year and he was popular with the class.  He knew his stuff and was cordial and polite.  He earned a B average and his teachers always said he was a good kid.

Frank was in grade ten and he and his friends kept a tight brotherhood of some sort.  They were always talking with each other and deciding on one thing or another.  One time Frank said to his girlfriend, “We’re the conscience of the town.  Nothing gets by us without our saying yes.”

Soon Ferris would be in school and he would get to experience grade nine.  For many kids that’s a make or break year.  Will this boy be an auto mechanic or a mathematician?  Ferris admitted humorously he didn’t know.  He knew he’d be working on the farm with his Dad.

Frank was the kind of boy who could do anything if he set his mind to it.  But for all that could become of him he knew he’d end up somewhere on a farm.  He loved his Dad truly.  Doing his best for his father was a kind of education in itself.

They came in at 5:00 and supper was ready.  The smell inside was heartwarming.  Wilma and Sherry cooked a ham with sweet sauce.  There was corn and butter and green peas in a pod.  They said a quick prayer and ate dinner.

Soon afterwards the men scraped the food off the plate and stacked them in the sink for washing.  Frederick asked, “What do you feel like doing tonight?”

Ferris said, “We can do anything.  How about we play catch outside?”

And since it was an honest suggestion the guys went outside and made a triangle for throwing and catching.  They grabbed their own mitts and an old, scuffed baseball and threw it around.  They all carried a thin smile and all made a serious face while throwing.

After about a half hour of this the guys put the ball in one of the gloves and went to talk by the fence that separated home from the pasture.  They did this often, just stand up by the fence and look at the animals and talk.

Frederick said, “So Ferris is going to be in Grade nine this year.”

Frank said, “He’ll never make it.”

“Hey!  I’ve got a chance,” Ferris said.

“All you have to do is get good grades, son.”

“I’ll aim for a B, but I’ll probably get a C.”

“You know the farm will be gone in some time.”

Frank looked at Ferris, and Ferris said, “The farm will be around forever, Dad.”

“Well.  It has served its purpose.  People move on, you know.”

“You’ll be around forever, Dad.”

Frederick laughed.  “With the good heaven above, maybe so.”

Frank said, “We can help you with the farm, Dad.  It’s just a piece of land.”

“Well.  I kind of expected you to move on in life, past farming even.”

“My memories would never let me let it go.”

“You’re too fond of this, son?”

“You know me.  If you pass away I’ll take care of the farm.  Ferris and I will.”

“Well, that’s awful nice of you boys.  It’s good to hear that.”

They stood up by the fence and talked and looked at the animals.

By about seven o’clock Ferris and Frank straddled the two horses and led the farm animals down to the river before they slept at night.  The boys got off their horses.

“Did you remember to bring the water buckets?” Frank asked Ferris.

“Shit, no, I forgot.”

“Do you think we’ll have enough water?”

“I don’t really know.  I could go back up, fetch them.”

“We’ll be fine, chum.”

Ferris looked with guilt at the cows and horses.  He thought to himself, “There’s too damned many of them.”

Frank watched them from the shore.  A moon was appearing in the distance and today it shone bright.  Frank looked at the water and the moon shining on it.

Ferris said again, “I’ll go up and fetch those buckets.  No problem.”

“Forget it.  It’s too late.”

Soon Frank called them in and they marched up the path as night was falling on them.  They let the horses and the cows go free on the field, doing what they do.

That night Frank and Ferris slept well in their room.  The whole family slept well and when morning came am orange and yellow sunrise beamed in at them from the windows.  Wilma was already awake and Sherry came in the kitchen yawning.  “Time for breakfast again,” Sherry said.

“We’ll make pancakes I think, with blueberries.”

“They’ll love that,” Sherry said, supportively.

A half hour late the men woke up in their daily attire.  Fred fetched the paper from the mailbox and was back inside within five minutes.  He walked in, poured a coffee with cream and sugar and sat down at the table, its sweet contents steaming up into nothingness.

The family ate pancakes with real maple syrup the Johnson’s made from an acre of land bearing sugar maple trees someways up the road.  Ferris said with a rubber smile, “That was great, Mom.”

“You had enough, dear?”

“I’m full,” Ferris said.

Frederick asked Ferris, “Do you think you could help me bring up the pump, Ferris.  I think we can still fix it.”

“Sure, Dad.”

But before they did anything they brought the farm animals down to the river for a drink.  Ferris and Frank watched the orange and yellow become light blue.  “That was a nice sunrise,” Ferris said.

“Indeed.”

They watched the cows and horses wade in the water and drink.  Frank was feeling sick looking at it.  “Hey, do you ever sometimes see the animals as people?”

“Sometimes.  When I was a kid.”

“Sometimes they make me sick, like rich people that squander life away.”

“Well.  They have it made here.  Food, water.  Who could ask for more?”

“I ask for more.  Does that make me a cow?”

“No.  Definitely not.  I’m just saying, they’re enjoying life comfortably.  Can’t blame them.”

“Do you think they’re better off in the wild?”

“I don’t know.  I was just thinking, you know, there’s too many of them.  God would invent a cow eater there’d be so many, with all the grass we have.”

“A cow eater, like us?”

“I don’t like to eat cow, but yes.”

“You’ll eat anything.  I’ve seen you eat a half raw burger.”

“I think it’s mean, that’s all.”

The two boys argued some more and finally called Rosy in and strapped the water pump, a big bulky thing, to her back, then led the animals back up to the pasture.

Frank said, “Dad says he can get it working.  He probably could.”  He lifted the pump off the horses back and carried it to the back of his Dad’s truck.  It landed with a thunk.

They went to meet their Dad in the pasture and told him the pump was in the truck.  They helped him get the tractor working and soon it was running just as it should be.

“So what do you think about grade nine, the next grade?”

“I’m worried, but I know things will be fine.”

“You know in high school there’s all sorts of neat stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Like girls, beer, fights, all sorts of stuff.  I got out of grade nine without a single fight.”

“How did you do that?”

“I acted politely.  People respect that.”

“I don’t want to get in a fight.  I’m too small.  But maybe I’ll grow some muscles.  I don’t know.”

“You can’t be cocky.  People will smell that right away.  You got to show people you’re confident, that you don’t need to be scared of stuff.”

“I like beer, and girls.”

“You can call a place and they’ll bring you beer for ten bucks, even if you’re under age.”

“And what about the girls?”

“They’re at a time in their life where they have sex with boys.  You’ve got the cougar, which is an old woman that has sex with younger guys, you’ve got the pity me Paula, you’ve got the bright Brandi, you’ve got the I’m fat and you’re ugly Frances.  You’ve got all types of women that will have sex with you.”

“And how do you get them to have sex with you?”

“It’s natural.  They like you, you talk to them, sometime later, you’re laid,” Frank said.

“I’m still a virgin.  Does that mean anything?”

“It means you’ve got to play it smooth.  A smooth player knows who he wants and what he wants.  Just turn down the uglies and the hot ones will come to you.  They’ll think you’re high class.”

Ferris laughed at that, nervously.  “I want the prettiest one.”

“Well, turn down some not so ugly, and maybe smart babes, the best will flock to you.”

Ferris laughed to himself.  “And if I get in a fight I can call you?”

“Yes.  Anytime.  Just tell a friend or whatever, find me between spares.  I’ll help you out.  But if you run into a clean fight, don’t call me.  Everyone loves a clean fight.”

They could both hear their Dad taking off into town to fix the pump.  Ferris and Frank walked about down the dust and gravel road.  The sun was hot by 10:30.  There was anything to say, there was everything to say.

But they remembered to go and take the animals to the water by 12:00.  Ferris remembered to bring the two buckets with him and filled them up and slung them around Rosy.

Frank seemed to be in kind of a daze.  “Do you think that water is still clean?”

Ferris said, “It is always flowing.  Yeah, it should be clean if you head against current.”

Frank trudged upriver and lowered his neck and drank from the river.  He pulled his head up and thrashed his hair free of water.  Ferris was suddenly scared.

“Come on in, Ferris.  The water’s beautiful.”

Ferris looked at Frank upriver.  The sun was beating down and it was hot and his mouth was dry.  “No.  No thanks.”

“Now or never, stupid.  This is a chance in a lifetime.”

Right then Ferris felt a real fear.  It wasn’t the cows or the horses that were polluting the water, it was the whole idea of jumping in without any cares.  “I’ll wait for Dad to come.”

“What’s Dad going to do?  Drink the water now.”

Ferris was still in fright.  “No.  Don’t make me drink it.”

Frank looked at Ferris straight in the eye.  “What’s the big deal?  Aren’t you thirsty?”

Ferris just walked away, up the trail and back to the farm.  Their Dad was pulling in with the old water pump, now fixed, in the back of the truck.  “What’s the matter, Ferris?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Aw, nothing, Dad.  Did you fix the pump?”

“For fifty dollars.  Can you believe that?”

Ferris smiled as his Dad parked in his usual place.  He got out the driver’s side and grabbed the pump and laid it gently on the ground.  “This should do us for another year.  Seems hard just to throw it away.”

Ferris walked up and looked at the pump.  It was as new as it ever was.

They brought the pump down to the water and affixed it to the pipe that carried it above.  Soon the pump was running and water splashed from a side of the house up the path.  All the way Ferris smiled as if he now had it made.

On the flat ground water gushed and Ferris took a few deep slurps of it.  He smiled at his Dad and Frank, then drank some more.  “Nothing bad is going to happen to our farm,” Ferris said.

The sun shone on him and the three men went about their separate ways.  Ferris brought the hose to where the cows and horses drank from the water trough that was always full.  Next would be grade nine for Ferris, and Sherry in grade ten, and Frank would be in grade eleven.  As far as it seemed to anyone, that farm would be there forever, and so might the family, with heaven abiding.