The Goat Incident

Author's Note: First off, I totally forgot to put this on my blog when I made it about a week ago, so I'm putting it here now. "It" is a personal narrative that Mr. Graf showed us how to make. I often like to write about hings that people talk about, so this is what I did. I wrote it based on a day in St. Thomas when my family went on a cruise.

All animals are unique and different. I think we can all agree on that. Except not all people are fond of animals. That includes my mom, who seems to not like animals. Strangely, she claims she likes them sometimes, but I know from experience that she usually just says that because I love animals. This particular experience is known as "the goat incident". 

Towering above us in St. Thomas was a sky-ride which glided along slowly up the tall, luscious hill covered in flowers. If you listened closely, you could hear the soft chirping of insects in the distance. Quickly, my dad, my mom, my brother Connor, and I hopped onto the car before it went without us. All the way up the hill, it creaked and shook from old age, luckily not too violently.

Eventually the car stopped at a mini zoo. It couldn't be called a zoo because the cages filled with regular old parrots were small octagons. A little farther along the boardwalk was a fence. Inside were three goats (two large ones, one small one) and two or three chickens/ducks.

A younger man started feeding the goats a long, green leaf which he picked from the leaves. He handed me some, saying that I could feed it, too. (I know what you 're thinking, but there wasn't a sign that said "DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS").  All of a sudden, the large, brown goat leaped over the fence. It really started to scare me, and it walked down the boardwalk. Even so, I found myself quickly snapping a picture with the camera in my hand. As the goat clomped down the boardwalk toward the fence bordering the mini zoo, I crept backwards. Closer to my mom. Just when the goat had leapt the fence, my mom had scooted toward a slope. Well, that's where I was headed since there was no where to go.

"Jim. Jim. Get the goat away from me." My mom's eyes widened, and she tried to sound calm, but I could still hear it in her voice that she was secretly panicking on the inside. Slowly, I set down the leaves I was still carrying on the ground and circled my way around the end of the mini zoo, veering the goat as much as possible. Then I just went down the stairs which led back to the sky-ride. All I could picture was the terrifying look on my mom's white face.

Thinking back, even though my mom repeatedly told me it was not funny, and she was seriously afraid, it still makes me smile. But at least now I know she's not in danger.

I still don't completely understand why my mom dislikes animals so much, but I guess it might me due to the bad experiences she had with them, including when she was younger and a goat leaped onto her shoulders… I shouldn't go much into any kind of details, although I can clearly picture in my mind what might have happened. Still, I must respect that she just doesn't like animals.