Share the World! >> A Mother's Love

crow How must a mother feel when her child goes missing?

All animals, including humans, would do anything to find their child again.

When Blackie the Friesian cow was sold at market and her calf taken away from her, she was terrified and frantically called out to her baby. But it was too late. Her calf had been sold to one farmer and Blackie was sold to another. It seemed that the mother and calf would be separated forever.

Blackie must have been heartbroken but she would not give up. That night, she jumped over the gate, escaping from the farm, and trekked six miles across fields and through hedgerows to find her baby.

crow How did she know where her baby was? She’d never been to the farm but something inside guided her and that night she and her calf were reunited.

When the farmer found out what had happened and the amazing way Blackie had tracked down her baby his heart softened ... he bought the calf as well.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• How would you feel if you were separated from your mother forever?

• How do you think Blackie knew where to find her calf?

• How do you think the calf felt when they were reunited?

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Use reference books, CDRoms and the Internet to find out more about Friesian cows and dairy farming.

• Why do dairy cows need to have calves?

• What happens to the calves?

The Golden Rule

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Or more simply Treat others as you would like to be treated.

The Golden Rule means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. If you would be unhappy in that situation then they are probably unhappy too. This works for animals, just as it works for humans.

Three Questions
List all the feelings you can think of that these three animals might be experiencing.

1. A dog let into a warm home on a very cold night feels…

2. A pony giving rides to children, walking around and around in circles all day feels…

3. A small calf separated from his or her mother feels…

Three Situations
Now you have imagined how animals feel in certain situations, you can
decide to use the Golden Rule to help them. Look at the three situations below and say a) how it fails to live up to the Golden Rule and b) how you would change it to make it fit the Golden Rule.

At a local zoo or circus, you see a bear circling aimlessly, without shade, on a very hot day.

a) How does this fail to live up to the Golden Rule?

b) What can you do?

You see many people walk past a bird with a broken wing who has fallen onto a busy pavement.

a) How does this fail to live up to the Golden Rule?

b) What can you do?

On your way both to and from school one day, you notice a dog tied up on a short chain, with no food or water in sight.

a) How does this fail to live up to the Golden Rule?

b) What can you do?

Three Wishes
Now stretch your imagination a little further. You have been given three wishes to make the world a better place for humans and animals to share.

Wish 1

Wish 2

Wish 3

TEACHER'S NOTES
The children’s responses to these questions and their wishes could form the basis of an assembly on the Golden Rule.