Fur, Feathers, and Scales: The Biology of Domestication, Thursday, Period 2

[puppy_fair]

Zack looked mildly perplexed as he stood at the front of the classroom, accompanied by a cow.

Just one cow. A perfectly normal, black and white spotted cow.

"I, um, have no idea how this got here," he admitted. "We were going to cover domesticated foxes today, but when I got to the classroom to set up before going to get them, she was already here."

He glanced at her sidelong for a moment, and then shrugged.

"I'm going to just mark it up to Fandom thinking it's funny, but she really shouldn't be here." So long as she wasn't a giant cat and he wasn't getting stuck in walls again, he'd take it. "So, um. Cows. Apparently they've been domesticated for at least ten thousand years, and people use them for meat, milk, and leather. Bulls are sometimes used for sports, like bull riding, and there's this thing called bullfighting which... is actually pretty cruel." He frowned a little. "Apparently it's illegal in a lot of countries, so at least there's that." He leaned his head back a little in thought. "There are also oxen, which are cattle that have been trained as working animals, pulling loads and things like that."

He glanced at the cow.

"Today's class, I guess we can just... um... try to coax the cow out of here. Maybe go outside and get a handful of grass or something?"

This place was weird.

Comments

Re: Activity!

[in_sidon_we_trust]

And of course Sidon's attempted solution to the cow-in-the-classroom problem would be simply to perhaps have a little chat with the cow, make friends with her and try to see if he could influence her to relocate to a more natural spot in due time.

"I dare say," he informed her, attempting one of his ever-so-charming smiles, "I can't imagine you find this cramped little classroom preferable to say, an open field of clover or even a nice shaded spot in the woods, my bovine friend, though I do understand from my own personal experience that it is not always easy to avoid being in a classroom. Still, I will be more than happy to assist you, should you need guidance, navigating through the doors or the stairs, and you'll be out of here in no time. You can do it! I believe in you!"

And that enthusiastic pump of his fist earned him little more than a doleful look between placid chewing of her cud, before she took a cautious step forward after catching a scent of the salt from him and taking an experimental lick of his hip.

Both of them were, clearly, rather disappointed in the results of these attempts, though it was a good try on both accounts, really.