I wanna fly

“Ramiza, get my plough, I have a lot of work today”, Firoz told his wife.
“Finish your breakfast first; I’m preparing tea for you.” Ramiza answered softly, pouring tea in two little cups.


Firoz quickly finished his rice and mashed potatoes. The young farmer stayed in his paddy-field from dawn to dusk. Pumpkins and spinach occupied the places where paddy was not sown. Firoz’s neighbors were always envious of him, because he was such a hardworking farmer that none could ever go near the amount of crops he harvested. Moreover, his honesty and friendliness was enough to win the hearts of customers.



“Hello Firoz, your pumpkins look good, may I get one?” Lalu, Firoz’s childhood friend, requested as they munched on some puffed rice mixed with mustard oil.
“Sure, Lalu. Your mangoes are very sweet, maybe we could trade some mangoes for pumpkins,” Firoz suggested.



Firoz’s constant companion was his favorite pet, Dhenu. Dhenu and his sister Gabhi assisted Firoz to plough the paddy-field. Usually, farmers used oxen to plough their fields, but Firoz preferred to use both an ox and a cow for this purpose.



Dhenu’s deep brown skin, and pointed horns scared everyone nearby. If, by mistake, any of the neighbor’s cattle tried to come into Firoz’s field, Dhenu would simply hit them with his horns. Whereas, if any of the female villagers were in search of milk, they could come to Firoz to purchase Gabhi’s milk. The cow could produce at least six liters of thick, sweet milk per day. Firoz sold some, and the calf drank up the rest.
Dhenu always had a dream whenever the strong ox closed his eyes. Dhenu could see himself flying in the clear blue sky, with two colorful wings. Whenever he looked up at the sky, his eyes would get locked on a flying crow or sparrow.


“Gabhi, I really wish I could fly, don’t you?” Dhenu often asked his sister.
“No Dhenu, I’m happy the way I am.” Gabhi answered with a smile.
One day, Dhenu noticed two twin brothers flying kites. “Can you make me fly like those kites?” he asked them.
But alas, none other than Firoz could understand Dhenu’s words. So, what he said seemed like just a “moo” to the little boys.



That night, Dhenu had a very strange dream. In his dream, Dhenu went to a kite:
“Can you help me fly?” He asked.
“No, you are very heavy.” The kite smirked at him.
Then he went to a crow:
“Can you help me fly?” He asked.
“No, you don’t have wings.” The crow shouted at him.
Then Dhenu went to a man:
“Can you help me fly?” He asked.
“Well, I’ll try.” The man replied.



The man tied Dhenu with plenty of strong ropes and then fixed him on the strongest branch of a banyan tree.
Dhenu had never felt so happy before. At last, he was going to fly!



Just after a few minutes, the branch came crashing down. Dhenu dropped on the ground with great force and his legs broke.
“Ah! How am I going to plough now?” Dhenu yelled.
Firoz was busily sowing some seeds in the soil with Lalu. Hearing the loud moos, he ran to his pet.


“Come here, Dhenu dear, we have work to do.” Firoz said in a soothing tone, stroking Dhenu’s brown skin.
Dhenu was glad everything he saw was not real. “From now on, I’ll be happy with what I have.” He promised to his master.
Total words: 582

For:

A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words Contest  (ASR) Write a story in 1000 words or less to a given picture prompt. [Hiatus!] #1101926 by iKïyå§ama

round 83