Shearing time
Fear. A strong nervous fear. The stirring of a vague memory from a past horror. Fear hangs over them like a stinking black cloud. The terrified bodies press close for comfort.
The whites of eyes flash wildly, then freeze. Strange noises and smells. An unseen beast snapping at their heels, clambering over their backs. Cries of their young, a separation causing pain and confusion, with the inability to move more than a few steps.
Freezing in winter's elements. Their wounds not tarred properly, stinging and burning. Wool taken at this time because their coats are of the finer wool that can only grow in the summertime.
A gate opens. The blinding fear holds them motionless. A loud, sharp shout. The beast's barking fills the air. One makes a break for freedom, runs through the gate. The others follow mindlessly.
Soon they are herded into a paddock. The beast leaves them, at first they cannot settle, the past events still fresh in their memories.
Now it starts to fade. The fresh grass is important. They eat peacefully. Shearing time is over for another year.
Alexandra Wright, year 9, Kadina SA
This story comes from the collection New Voices for the Animals - Young Australian Writers Speak out on Issues of Animal Welfare .
Animal Liberation SA holds the copyright to this work. Permission is granted to teachers to make copies for their own students.