bull & pea hen

Someone close to me was cruel, screaming at me out of the blue, however I was less surprised than confounded, as it had occurred before. I left and walked along a road. I noticed my friend walking quickly along the other side of the street so that she would not get waylaid by passers-by wanting her attention. I called to her and she crossed the street to walk with me. As we walked, we talked, and I felt the bond of familiarity and understanding. A big bull rushed toward us and fell beside me, crashing heavily to the ground. I was knocked over by the force of his bulk and could see his powerfully muscular back rolling dangerously close to me. My friend helped me to my feet and we began to run, attempting to escape the bull. The bull rose to his feet and charged after us, overtaking us and circling back. He was a somewhat shrunken bull by now, only the size of a young steed. We realised that we were unable to outrun the bull, so I turned to him directly and began to stroke his ears, doing my best to calm him.

Later, I was sitting in a grassy garden in the company of people, but I felt alone. As others talked and ate, I wandered over to a garden bed to look at the flowers. A beautiful pea hen skittered across the grass toward me and then took fright, darting away. I wished the pea hen would trust me and, sure enough, she ran back over and climbed into my lap where she nestled in. She had soft golden feathers over her back, a downy white belly and a patterned belt of bright grass green feathers across her lower back. As she relaxed, she passed a green dropping, the colour and texture of wasabi paste. I did my best to point her tail over the edge of my legs so that she would not soil my clothing. I stroked her back and kept her safe.