WILLIAM E. LOPEZ

HC-66, Box 11014

Pahrump, NV 89048

Approx. 2,815 words

Leroy the Love Sick Llama

W. E. Lopez

Jacob and Elizabeth Lovely had lived on their farm in eastern Ohio for many years. Now that their children were grown and had moved away, they lived alone on the Lovely Farm with several well cared for animals. Three weeks ago, farmer Lovely had brought home a llama to raise, for he had heard that llama wool was among the finest in the world.

Steady-boy, the mule, was grazing on the fresh spring grass in the pasture behind the Lovely barn when Porker the Pig came to talk to him.

"Steady-boy," Porker said, "Can you do something about Leroy for me? He keeps following me everywhere I go. He just won't leave me alone. Can you help me please?"

Leroy was the llama who had recently moved to the Lovely Farm. When he was growing up in Peru, his name had been Lorenzo. Now that he was living in Ohio he wanted to be called Leroy because it made him feel more American.

Steady-boy slowly chewed a mouthful of grass before he answered Porker. "Leroy likes you very much, Porker. I guess you might say he has a crush on you. What's wrong with that? Don't you like Leroy?"

"Of course I do, Steady-boy. But I need to have my own space, you know? Every where I go, Leroy follows. He's becoming a great pest. What can I do?"

Steady-boy's ears poked up through holes in the wide brim of the straw hat Mrs. Lovely had put on his head. The farmer's wife had added a spray of pink petunias made of crepe paper to the hat because she thought they looked very pretty. Now Steady-boy flicked his right ear to discourage a circling hummingbird who was interested in the paper flowers.

"I think we need to talk to Solomon," Steady-boy said. "He is much wiser than I and I'm sure he will know what you can do."

Steady-boy and Porker walked the short distance to the barn where the wise old owl lived high up among the rafters over head.

"Yoo-hoo!" Steady-boy called. "Solomon! Will you come down here for a moment to help Porker with a problem?"

Solomon stirred in his sleep as he nested on the perch high in the rafters. He stretched his wings and blinked his great eyes! "Yaaawwnnn," he went. He was very sleepy for he spent long hours during the night hunting for mice and rodents in Farmer Lovely's fields. Mrs. Mischief, the cat, was the Chief Executive in Charge of Rodent Control on the Lovely Farm, but she stayed mostly in the barn where Farmer Lovely stored his seed grain in the spring and his harvest in the fall.

Solomon leaned forward on his perch and fell toward the floor of the barn in a graceful dive. When he was just a few feet above the floor he quickly extended his talons and his wings and braked to a perfect two-point landing. "Excuse me," he said as he yawned once more. "I had a very busy night last night. What kind of a problem do you have, Porker?" he asked the pig.

Porker explained.

"Well, that's obvious, Porker. You have probably noticed that Farmer Lovely doesn't have any lady llamas on our farm. So Leroy has taken a shine to you. I should think you would be flattered? You know you are very attractive, as pigs go." Solomon tucked his wings behind him and paced around in a little circle as he usually did when thinking.

"I suppose you're right, Solomon," Porker said. "But I'm kind of sweet on that nice boar over at the Davidson's place. I wouldn't want him to get jealous because of Leroy."

"Then I think the best solution for you Porker, is to find a lady llama for Leroy and then he won't be interested in you any more."

"That's an excellent idea, Soloman," Steady-boy said. "But where are we going to find a lady llama?"

"You certainly won't find one here in Ohio, Steady-boy. You'll have to go to South America where Leroy was raised. I'm certain you will find lots of lady llamas there, and Leroy is bound to meet one he'll like."

"Okay, Soloman. We'll do it." Porker said. "The farmer and his wife have gone to church this morning, so maybe we can take Leroy to South America to meet a lady llama and be back in time for dinner this evening."

"I know where there is a loose rail in the fence on the back side of the pasture," Steady-boy said. "I'm sure we can get out there and then go through the woods to South America. Let's go ask Leroy if he feels like making a journey."

"And I'll go back to my nap," Solomon said. He spread his wings and took a short hop and then huffed and puffed as he flapped his wings and flew up to the top of the barn once more.

Steady-boy and Porker found Leroy near the pig-sty where he was listening to Sunrise the Rooster bragging about how important his job on the farm was. "…oh, a rooster's job is never easy," Sunrise was saying. "I have to be up before dawn every morning to wake the farmer and his wife for their morning chores. And sometimes I have to crow and crow and crow to wake up the sun, because he can be very lazy and tries to sleep in quite often. Now you just imagine what it would be like to have a day without sunshine, I tell you. If it wasn't for me, things would simply never get done around this farm. You can bet on that!"

Leroy worked his mouth side to side as he chewed on a chunk of alfalfa he had found in the back of the farmer's wagon. He swallowed at last and said, "Yes, I guess it must be quite some responsibility to have so many people depending you, Señor Gallo." Leroy lowered his head and stuck his long neck through the fence railing to sip some cool water from Porker's water trough.

"Hello, Leroy. Good morning, Sunrise," Steady-boy said as he approached them. Sunrise was strutting along the top rail of the fence with his chest puffed out because Leroy had just told him how important the rooster was.

"Buenos dias, Señor Steady-boy," Leroy said. "It is a beautiful day, no?"

"Yes, it is, Leroy." Porker was half hiding behind Steady-boy where she thought Leroy would not see her. "I was thinking of talking a trip, Leroy, and wondering if you would like to come along."

"A trip? That sounds like fun, señor. Where are you going?" Leroy asked. The llama stretched his long neck to see past Steady-boy's shoulders where he could catch a glimpse of Porker. He winked at her and she blushed.

"I was thinking that we might go to South America and try to find a lady llama who would like to come live with us," Steady-boy said.

Leroy's ears perked up and he straightened his neck to his full heighth. "Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea, Steady-boy. But how can we get out of the barnyard?"

"Shhh, you just come with me, Leroy." Steady-boy began leading the animals around the barn and into the pasture behind.

"Wait for me!" called Sunrise. "I want to go too!"

"And me!" said Giselle the Goat as the animals trooped past her. Giselle turned to call over her shoulder, "Come on friends! We're going on a journey to South America! Everyone come!"

Soon Honker the Goose, Rupert the Squirrel, and Bluster the Dog had joined the small procession. They all crossed the pasture with Steady-boy leading, Leroy, Porker and Sunrise close behind. When they reached the far end of the pasture, Steady-boy found the rail that he wanted and cautioned the other animals to move back. Then he turned to face away from the fence and gave a swift kick with his rear legs.

With a sharp "crack!" the top rail came loose at one end and hung into the weeds. Sunrise, Honker, and Rupert had no difficulty squeezing under the bottom rail. Giselle, Leroy, Bluster and Steady-boy easily stepped over the middle rail. Only Porker could not get over the rail.

"I'll help you," said Bluster. "I can dig under the fence from this side, and you can dig under from that side," he told Porker. And so they did; soon Porker was on the other side of the fence also and the animals began to head through the deep woods.

"Are you sure you know the way?" Porker asked Steady-boy who was in the lead.

"Not real sure," Steady-boy admitted. "Every time I've gone to town with the farmer we have used the road. But I think we can get to South America in this direction."

"How far do you think it is?" asked Rupert the Squirrel. He was the smallest of all the animals and had the shortest legs. He really had to scurry if he was going to keep up with them.

"I am not sure," Leroy said. "When I came to this country, I was brought on a boat across the ocean to Charleston in South Carolina. From there I came on a train to Ohio."

"I don't want to go on a boat," Sunrise said. "I can't swim and I am afraid of the ocean."

"Don't worry," Bluster said. "I'm sure it will be shorter if we just head straight over land until we get to South America. We'll just go around the ocean."

"Oh, good! I like that," Rupert said. Although he could swim, he didn't like to get his fur wet any more than necessary.

All morning the animals marched in single file as they wove their way through the trees. The sun was climbing higher in the sky and the day was getting warmer. The trail began to slope steeply upward, and the animals were growing tired, except for Leroy who was very much accustomed to travel among the high mountains of Peru.

"Isn't it about time for us to take a break?" Sunrise asked Steady-boy.

Steady-boy had his head down and his shoulders forward as he steadily plodded along the trail. He wanted to get to the top of the rise just ahead before they stopped for a rest. From there he was sure it would be down hill the rest of they way as they traveled to South America. But the other animals were tiring more easily than he, so he guessed it would be a good idea to take a rest.

"Okay, fellas, we can take a rest here," he said.

"That's for me," Sunrise said as he flopped down on the ground with exhaustion. He was not used to doing much traveling for he seldom even bothered to cross the road. Rupert dropped to the ground also, too tired even to go for a hickory nut which was laying close by.

Leroy dipped his head and began to graze on the tender grasses growing in the shade of the forest. Porker decided to scamper on ahead and get a head start on the rest of the animals. The trail was very steep as it climbed up between rocks and trees, seeming to go straight to the sky. Porker pushed her short legs harder and harder as she climbed the rocks. At last she made it to the top and could see for miles beyond in nearly every direction!

"Oh my!" Porker said!

Steady-boy lifted his tired head from the soft grass. "What's wrong, Porker?" he asked.

"There's a big river on the other side of this mountain. Much too big for me to swim across," she said.

"River!" Sunrise exclaimed. "I can't swim, I can't swim! I'll have to go back."

"Oh dear," Leroy said. "I can't swim very well either. My wool will get soaked I'm sure, and I'll probably drown!"

"When the farmer and I go to town, we don't have to cross any river," Steady-boy said. "We must be going in the wrong direction."

"Well, we'll definitely have to go back then," Porker shouted. "Oh, fellas, I just noticed that it's much harder getting down from here than getting up. I'm afraid I'll slip on these rocks and fall!"

"Just stay there," Bluster said. "I'll come up and help you down."

"No you won't," Leroy said. "Porker is much to big for you to carry. Besides, I am well accustomed to mountain travel and big enough that I can carry Porker down. I'll go up and save her."

"Be very careful, Leroy," Honker said.

"Don't worry, friends," Leroy said. "I can do this very easily."

Leroy climbed up among the rocks. His powerful leg muscles allowed him to climb with ease and his two-toed feet were sure footed among the rocks. When he reached the top he could see the wide river that Porker had mentioned. Indeed, it was much too large for him or his friends to swim across. And as far as he could see, far off into the haze, the land kept going and going and going. He was afraid that it was much too far for them to walk all the way to South America.

He bent his legs and knelt beside the rock where Porker was stranded. "Climb onto my back and I will carry you down, Porker. Grab hold with your legs very tightly so you won't fall."

"Thank you, Leroy. I'm sorry to be such a problem. I didn't know that it would be so hard to get down after I got up here."

She quickly climbed upon the llama's back and he carried her down the trail. When they reached the floor of the forest where the other animals were waiting Leroy knelt down again so Porker could slide off.

"Thank you all for offering to go with me to South America," he said. "I'm afraid the world is much bigger than we thought and it would be too long a trip for us to make in one day."

"Then we should all start back to the farm," Giselle said. "It will be sundown by the time we get home, and Farmer Lovely always feeds us when the sun is going down."

"Yes, we have a long way to go back," Honker said. "I'd like to have a nice swim in my pond and soak my poor webbed feet. I am not accustomed to walking so far."

Steady-boy led off once more and all afternoon the animals retraced their steps as they slowly walked back to the farm. When they crossed the fence they headed straight for the barn and the fresh dinner they knew the farmer had put out for them.

"Whoa there!" Steady-boy said as he entered the barn. "It looks like we have another guest, friends."

Leroy and Honker and Giselle hurried to see who the new comer was. Rupert the Squirrel scampered up the hickory tree just outside the barn and scurried along the branch that led to the secret knothole where he could get into the loft. Sunrise flapped his wings and leaped to the top of one of the stalls.

Inside the barn, in one of the empty stalls, stood a gorgeous lady llama. She had a graceful white neck above a beautiful tan wool coat covering her body. Sunrise didn't know what a lady llama was supposed to look like, but it was plain to see that Leroy thought she was very pretty.

"Hello," Leroy said to her. "Welcome to the Lovely Farm. These are my friends," he said as he began to introduce her to the animals.

"We sure hope you will like it here," said Bluster the Dog. "We have just been on a long journey to help Leroy find a lady llama, and we certainly don't want to do that again."

"Thank you all," she said to the animals. "My name is LaVerne and I'm very happy to be here with you. The farmer seems like a very nice man," LaVerne said.

"Oh, he is, LaVerne," said Leroy. "Even though I've only been here for three weeks, I'd like to tell you all about the Lovely Farm and all our friends here."

"Well then, Leroy, if you're not too tired after your long walk, why don't we take a stroll in the moonlight and you can do just that?"

The other animals hooted and called as Leroy and LaVerne walked very closely, side by side, away from the barn and into the moonlit pasture. Even though they had not made it to South America, their day had turned out to be a very nice one after all.