Farm Life

• Chase Burke, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

The cattle were like an alarm early in the morning, wanting breakfast.
‘Ok! Ok!’ I yell as I run out of the house ready for a full day's work. I
jumped in the gator and went over to the shed. I dragged out some
bales of hay and a big bag of grain. I drove over to the gate where the
cattle were waiting. I jumped out, opened the gate and drove through
into the paddock. I pulled out the food and before I knew it I was
surrounded. I am a young boy that lives on a huge 2000-acre farm,
with my mum and dad. We have just about any animal you could think
of.
I have a very important job on the farm, to take care of all the animals.
My parents' job is to make sure that none of the animals have got out
of the paddocks. They also have to check for new babies. I am
homeschooled by my mum because we live far in the bush, a long
way from any schools. I love generally taking care of the animals. All
of our animals are kept quiet so we can go up to them and they don’t
mind. I don't have any friends so the animals have always been there
for me and they mean a lot to me. I really like riding my horse around,
I also enjoy riding the quad-bike, the dirt bike and the gator. We grow
our own fruit and vegies so we don't have to go to the shops and we
also get our meat from the farm animals, which I hate but I know that
we have to do it.
Where we live, our Summer is burning and our Winter is freezing. All
our animals have strong shelter’s so they can be protected when the
weather is bad. My parents always tell me that one day when I'm old
enough the farm will get passed down to me and then it will be my
responsibility. I love the farm life and wouldn't leave it for anything.
Now it's summer and humid and windy. Very, very windy. We were
supposed to have a horrible Summer this season. Plus my best calf
Axel is now weaned and in the paddock with all of the adult cattle.
‘Take cover!’ Yelled dad, as I had just finished getting all the animals in
the feeding yards, and hoped that they wouldn't get injured. We all
hurried inside. This was like something we'd never experienced
before. It was a tornado, it was just going to pick up the farm and
throw it around like a toy. I was terrified.
The Next Day
As I slowly walked out of what was left of the house the only view was
of dust and dirt. Animal bodies lying everywhere motionless. We got
the vet to come in and she saved what she could. We just had to start
all over again.