The Papier-Mache Cow Who Stole the Parade
Our papier-mache cow float wins the Stephenville parade after a goat climbs aboard and takes over the whole show with perfect rhythm.
The year the dairy committee decided to enter the Stephenville Christmas parade, we built a papier-mache cow on a flatbed trailer. She was twelve feet tall, with a tinsel tail and a pair of enormous eyelashes made from feather dusters. We named her Bessie Belle, and we were very proud of her.
What we did not plan for was Hank, the goat. Hank belongs to a neighbor and had been trailing our youth group all week, hoping for a graham cracker. On parade morning, he hopped up onto the trailer before anyone noticed, climbed the little ramp onto the cow's back, and stood on top of her like a tiny proud captain.
We could not stop the parade for a goat. The tractor was already rolling, and a marching band was behind us playing something slow and sentimental. So we waved. Hank stood perfectly still as the crowd came into view. Children pointed. A man on the curb said, 'Look, the cow has a hat.' It was the finest hat a papier-mache cow ever wore.
Then the band started 'Jingle Bells,' and Hank, who had a sense of rhythm none of us knew about, began to nod his head in time. By the courthouse, he was bobbing along like a conductor. The crowd began to clap on the beat. By the end of the route, people were throwing candy at the goat and cheering, and the judges leaned over the rail to get a better look.
We won first place. The ribbon was awarded to 'Bessie Belle and Company,' and Hank got a graham cracker the size of a dinner plate. He has never been the same. Now he demands a spot on every float, and the committee obliges. If you plan a float for your own town, the ag careers pages have good ideas for recruiting help, and I keep a few more parade tales on farm.FM.