Epilogue III

"Wake up dear, it's time to go," Grace stirred as Ned gently shook her awake. "The train will be arrivin' in bout an hour, we need to be there or it'll be too late."

Grace sat bolt upright to see that the morning had come. The birds were singing a happy song as the bright sun shined down upon her to leave her walking out and lifting her face into it. She felt good and wonderfully alive. Ned chuckled as he watched her skip around the backyard in excitement. She seemed as if she was ready for this trip.

"Well glad to see that you're up and rarin' to go," Ned said with a proud smile. "Now come on, we better get a move on." He signaled her with his hand to come through the back door and out the front. Grace followed him without any fear or worry of what else might lay ahead in the future for her. Time did have a way of changing things as Honey reminded her yesterday, but she wasn't the least bit worried. Dan, Sampson, and Honey were already waiting out in front. To them, it was always nice to see her smiling instead of crying.

The train ride to where the Patch of Heaven farm was located had taken no less than three hours to reach. Honey stayed behind in the stock car waving goodbye and good luck to Grace as she walked further away into the distance with Ned, Dan, and Sampson. For her sake, the bluebird wished her dearest friend to live the remainder of her life with a caring and loving family. Like Juniper, she almost hated to see Grace leave but that was not for her to decide. The time had come to let her go. The door slid closed again as the train was now preparing to move out to reach the next destination.

Although Grace had been happy to finally be free of Lewis, she also felt a bit nervous about her being placed in the care of a stranger she had never met before. She had been shy around Ned when she first saw him before Lewis had a chance to whip her again. So often she wondered what would happen if Sampson never met up with her, but she'd never ask. If it weren't for his cleverness to report Lewis, Grace might have been locked away in that awful shack or possibly a locked up barn filled with other frightened animals if the bandits' plan had succeeded in riding away to outlaw town. She'd be forced to work with Lewis feeding her leftover scraps from his meals for the rest of her miserable life. And every time she thought of him preparing to mark her with that hot iron, her stomach churned.

"Well I'm guessin' this must be Chugwater Town," Ned muttered as they were now strolling through a boomtown of passing citizens. Around them, the town contained at least a barber shop, bank, and post office, hotel, a blacksmith stable, general store, photography studio, land claims office, doctor's office, city hall, a boot shop, Annie's Saloon, and the sheriff's office. "Hmm, maybe we outta pay the sheriff of this town a visit. He might know the way to Patch of Heaven." It was worth a try.

On the porch, there sat a short round man leaning back against the wall in his chair. He appeared to be taking a nap. Beside him sat a short basset hound that was also asleep. Ned stepped onto the porch slowly; he hated to interrupt the sheriff during his sleep but his question was more important.

Clearing his throat, he tapped him on the shoulder timidly, "Ahem, excuse me."

Startled, the plump man woke up as if he had forgotten something. "Whoa, what, where…oh…" he turned to face Ned without remembering that he had fallen asleep on the job. "Well howdy there, how can I help yah?" he asked as he sat up and dusted himself. His dog snorted before he woke up and spotted the newcomers.

"Sorry to interrupt your sleep there but…"

"Nah, don't worry bout it," the man interrupted. "I'm glad yah did since I'm supposed to be mindin' the job here in Chugwater." Noticing Grace standing behind Ned's legs, he asked. "Say, who's your little friend there?" when he took a step closer, Grace hid her face protectively.

"Oh right, I almost forgot; I was wonderin' if you by any chance could tell me how to get to this here farm called Patch of Heaven?" Ned took the ad out of his pocket unfolded it and showed it to the man.

"Patch of Heaven? Heck, I've been there plenty o' times," he answered with a cheerful laugh. " Pearl Gesner is an ol' friend o' mine and she likes to take care o' them farm animals as if they were her own children. Don't know why, but I can respect that. Is that why yah got a calf hidin' behind your legs?" he pointed to Ned's knees where Grace was still covering herself.

"She's a bit shy around new faces," Ned informed him without noticing the basset hound come up and check her out. "Love to keep her with me, but I haven't got the time. So I thought a new home might be best. Could you tell me the way?"

"Sure, it's up over there," he pointed to the narrow dusty trail leading out of town and up the green hills. "Just follow the trail straight ahead and you'll find the place. I'm Sheriff Sam Brown by the way." He offered his hand out for him. "And that's my horse, Buck." A large brown horse stood under a mound of grass snacking away.

"Ned Jones," the two shook hands. "Anything unusual been happenin' in this town lately?"

"Well nothin' in particular cept'…Rusty get over here! Haven't heard nothin' cept' the rumor of a yodelin' cattle rustler responsible for the loss of one ranch after another. Can you believe it?"

"A yodeler?" Ned's eyes widened at that and then jokingly asked. "Now how would a yodeler wanna steal cattle with his singin'?"

"Don't know," answered Sam. "Rumor states that one rancher witnessed a figure lurin' his cattle away while he sang a yodelin' number. So far we haven't found a clue o' the sort."

"When did you hear bout this?"

"About a week ago I believe. I'll have to inform my men to keep their eyes open. It might just be rumor now, but the law is the law."

The two men were suddenly interrupted by a crash coming from inside the saloon. A blond woman in a red dress appeared to be pushing a skinny cowpoke out through the front entrance. "STAY OUT AND DON'T COME BACK YOU TWO TIMIN' SIDEWINDER!!" she shouted furiously shaking her fist at the cowpoke running off into the street. Sampson, Dan, and Grace were also taken aback by what they viewed.

"Who's that?" Ned asked Sam, still staring at her.

"Oh don't you mind her; that's just Annie the saloon manager," replied Sam. "Stuff like that always happens in that place."

"Well I better get goin' now, it was nice meetin' you," Ned waved goodbye and headed toward the hill to find the farm with the others following close behind. Then he stopped short and turned around. "And thanks for pointin' out the way for me!"

"Anytime now!" Sam called out waving. "You're always welcome here anytime yah like." He watched as Ned kept going and going as if he were determined to get the orphan calf way from danger as fast as possible. He should be thankful for picking the right place for Grace to live at. This town is a dangerous place for her to be.

At the front gate

"Aw, she sure is purty," an elderly woman kneeled down beside a shy Grace to pet her hide soothingly. "Where'd she come from?" Already she was overwhelmed not only by the calf's prettiness, but by the sweet innocence behind her eyes. Ned was astonished himself to see Pearl Gesner handle Grace kindly without having to be so rough.

"I found her abandoned on the trail with no mother or anyone else to take care o' her. Couldn't stand to see her alone, so I had to bring her here," Ned answered quickly. Unable to tell her the truth about how Grace was badly mistreated, beaten, and whipped across her back, he thought it would be too shocking for a woman like Pearl to hear. Some things were just better left unsaid or unknown for many good reasons. Of course, the woman didn't even bother to look under Grace's hide as she kept soothing it downward. Her scars were well covered up by the hairs that grew in since her rescue.

"Well now why would anyone wanna abandon a poor calf out in the middle o' nowhere?" Pearl asked pitifully. Grace was feeling too charmed to be paying attention to what Ned had said.

"Beats me, but she can awfully be shy round strangers and easily spooked by the loudest noises."

"Oh well I ain't worried bout that one bit," she assured. "She'll be safe on this farm with me from now on. I'd be more than happy to take her in. In fact, Patch of Heaven is a safe haven to all the homeless animals that come to live here. There's never too many to care for. And it's better than havin' them wander round with no place else to go. Thanks for savin' and bringin' her here; didn't think no one else would ever answer my ad."

Pearl handed Ned some papers to sign over and give back to her. The papers stated that Pearl now owned Grace. Well maybe not own, but would be her new guardian. Ned went over to Grace to tell her to mind her new mother and be a good girl. Dan stood by so that Sampson would see her one last time and say goodbye. Reminding her not to be sad about their departure, Grace could only wish him good luck and hope that he would find his lost family someday. She didn't feel as sad as she did before because she swore to her old friends that she wouldn't cry anymore. Now that everything here was settled, Pearl and Grace watched as Ned walked back down the dusty trail with Dan until their figures grew smaller and smaller. They were gone forever and there was no stopping them. But even if Ned would miss not caring for Grace, he would always have Dan with him for companionship.

"Come on inside now girl," said Pearl, pushing the gate aside. "It's too nice to be standin' out in this spot by yourself."

Grace allowed Pearl to lead her through the farm. Inside there were green trees with shining red apples hanging above; enough to satisfy her taste buds. A nice splendid house sat in the center of the farm. Grace guessed that must have been Pearl's cozy home. There was a butter churn, a trough, a huge pile of golden hay, and an enormous windmill. The landscape here was a lot different from what she had seen on any other ranch. There looked to be a garden of strange plants she had never seen sticking from the soil. Looking around closer, she noticed two animals sprinting about in a pen and rolling over in a mud hole. They were pink, chubby, their noses were upturned, their ears were black and their tails were curly.

"That's Ollie and Molly," Pearl pointed out to them. "They were the first and only pigs to arrive on this farm." That's what they were called, pigs. Then she passed through what appeared to be a tiny pen with chirping noises coming from inside. Around the pen were these strange birds in brown and red feathers and tiny yellow ones. "That's the chicken coop. I'm sure you'll be gettin' along fine with your new feathered friends." Chickens, what a strange name to call a flock of birds. "And that over there is Jeb the goat." A short grey animal with a long face, long black horns and cloven feet sat inside a huge barrel with a mountain of silver cans piled next to him. Right now he was rearranging some cans that were spilled with a grumpy expression on his face. Grace hoped he would like her soon. Next she was introduced to a duck named Larry, a chicken named Audrey and a rooster on the rooftop. "Now where is Mrs. C?"

That last question was answered when Grace saw a small four legged animal walk out of a den yawning as if she had woken up from a nap. To Grace's surprise, she was another young calf. She was rather short with her hide black all over with a grey stomach. The only unusual thing about her was that she wore a purple hat with a yellow flower hanging out. With half opened eyes, she noticed Grace as the newcomer being led by Pearl and walked over to check her out. At first Grace took a step back every time she got close to her face but soon realized that this calf only wanted to know her. With no small companion to help her out in this situation, it was now time for her to make her own kind of judgments. No one spat or cursed at her when she strolled by and she wasn't handled roughly upon arriving. She figured that she was going to like it here after all.

"Oh Mrs. Calloway, were you in there sleepin' again as always?" Pearl teased with her hands on her hips. She whirled around to face the rest of the farm animals. "Everyone, please come and welcome our newest member o' the family, Grace!" she announced. Soon all the pigs, chickens, including Jeb came up to have a closer look at what the newcomer was like. Nervous, Grace hid behind Pearl protectively. "Don't be shy now; come out so everyone can see you." She spoke gently.

Poking her head out, Grace moved in front as she remembered that she was to mind what her new mother tells her. To be around new faces whether they were of human or animal was something she was going to have to get used to on this place. If she wanted everyone to like her, Grace vowed that she was going to make the best of things as soon as possible. So far, the animals treated her nicely with a friendly greeting instead of harsh words. All Jeb did was say "hi" and then walked off. Ollie told Grace not to mind Jeb as he always behaved like that to everyone on the farm. That didn't offend her as it should have, but she believed Jeb might change his mind about her in time. There were more important things to think about.

"I have a few carrot seeds to plant in the soil now, so I'll be leavin' you here to get acquainted with the rest o' the family," Pearl patted Grace softly on the head before going into her house.

"So are you happy to be here?" asked the calf whom Pearl referred to as Mrs. Calloway. She had spoken in a different kind of accent from how everyone else around her had talked.

"I think so," replied Grace. "But it's only been a while now so I don't really know."

"Not to worry," she added. "Everything will be fine. In fact, I was nervous myself on my first day. But now I'm happy to be here and you will too. I'm from a place called Great Britain, land of good manners. And you…?"

"I don't remember," Grace replied with her face blushing.

"Hmm, I never met anyone who never knew where she truly came from. But I guess that doesn't matter. Since you're new here, I'll be glad to teach you everything there is to know on this farm since I'm the oldest."

"The oldest?" Grace was puzzled.

"I'm thirteen months old to tell you the truth. Others thought I was only two or three which was sort of a nuisance. How old are you?"

"Three months," answered Grace. "But how did you get here?"

"I don't remember. Time passes so quickly. All I do know is that my own mother did not have enough nutrients to feed or nurse me and the master declaring that I was to be sold to someone else. Then along came Pearl who saw me and brought me here during a stroll in town."

To hear something mentioned about a mother almost broke Grace's heart as she couldn't remember her own. "But you're happy here anyway, right?"

"Of course, what's done is done. So there is no need for me to dwell on past experiences now that I already have a family here on Patch of Heaven. Wherever you're from, forget about it. We're all family now. I promise you'll like it here."

"Really?" a smile spread across Grace's face to hear that.

"I promise. Now stand up straight and mind your manners."

Grace who was now happy to have met another older calf, played with Mrs. Calloway throughout the day in the field of lovely bluebonnets. When the sun got too hot that afternoon, the two sat under the shadows of the apple trees and ate an apple which was delicious and tempting. When summer arrived, the trees were greener than ever as the apples grew redder and bigger. Every morning, Grace was fed by Pearl with a bottle of plain ordinary milk. Mrs. Calloway had taught Grace the importance of helping others out as Pearl gathered the apples in many baskets. Sometimes she was rather stiff, proper and fastidious with a few rules such as chewing with your mouth closed, not talking with your mouth full, don't play with your food, being patient, saying "please" or "thank you" or to say "excuse me", but Grace didn't mind. She highly respected those lessons. But one time, when the two were taking an ordinary walk through the flower field, an annoying woodpecker flew down close to Mrs. C and knocked over her purple hat to carry it back to his nest. This had filled her up with so much fury that she charged his tree like a rampaging bull powerful enough to bring the hat back down to her. The woodpecker ended up dazed and unsteady for the rest of the day inside his hole. Learning that the hat was Mrs. Calloway's pride and joy, Grace remembered to always be careful never to knock it off, even by accident. Mrs. Calloway had taken a liking to Grace alright and since she was a lot older than her, she acted pretty motherly and protective of her, despite her tone deafness. Grace never argued or even tried to talk back to her since there didn't seem to be a reason for it.

As time went on with the seasons passing, Grace was no longer the shy, lonely, frightened calf as she used to be when she lived with a cruel owner. There were quite a few times when she felt sad every time someone from outside the farm asked about her real mother, but her friends found plenty of ways to cheer her up. She had grown to be a tall, athletic, and pretty blond heifer with a peace-loving personality. For a cow, her body seemed a bit similar to a deer (thanks to being fed deer's milk). It was delightful for her to watch the bees buzzing by and the humming birds flutter out in the bluebonnet field and she loved to sniff the pleasant aroma coming from them. It felt even more pleasant when the breeze pushed the flowers along her body when she sat down for a short rest. Spring and summer turned out to be her favorite time of the year. During the cold nights of winter, she and Mrs. Calloway were kept safe and warm inside their den with plenty of hay to eat and sleep on. The days were often fun with snowball throwing, sliding down a snowdrift, and skating on a frozen pond. And when it was time for spring to come, the snow would melt under the morning sun. Grace was feeling so happy here on the Patch of Heaven farm that she didn't stop to think about why she came here in the first place, neither did she care. She had family and friends to keep her company with Pearl feeding them the right foods. No one was there to yell, smack, or starve her when she got them mad and Pearl swore that she'd never allow any scoundrel to lay harm on any member of her family. They all must have had a story to tell, but in the end they were lucky enough to be brought here just like her. Everyone was grateful for that. All had been well and nothing else changed much. Nothing had changed before the arrival of a show cow named Maggie, but that's another story.

"So that's how it all happened?" Maggie asked when Grace had nothing more to tell. Her story was now over. "You were raised by an unkind master, kidnapped, rescued, and finally brought here?" after everything she had heard, it was almost still hard for her to believe that this would happen to someone like Grace and she managed to stay sweet with the help of her friends.

"Yes," answered Grace, looking down at her front hooves. "I never thought it would suddenly come crawlin'…back to me just now." For a moment, she was silent. "I never wanted to remember anything of it…" she stiffened her lip as if she was close to crying. The tone in her voice turned unsteady as she prepared to explain the worst part. "…In my dream, I was walkin' through a field of flowers enjoying the sweet smellin' atmosphere. Then somethin' had grabbed the back of my legs and I couldn't escape. The sky had turned dark and grey as the flowers withered and turned into dust, fragments of every memory were gatherin' in the form of a cloud bringin' more hurt to me. No matter how hard I tried to make it go away, it stayed there ignorin' my pleas. Then another pair of hands touched my shoulders tighter than I'd never imagined. I was thrown on the ground violently as more clouds gathered to show me more images of what I didn't want to see. It seemed as if they were tauntin' me, tellin' me I was never meant to be raised with love by my real mother as I was taken from her. I tried callin' for help but no one answered. Afterward, the visions faded but I still held down by invisible hands. Then he came along, my owner stood before with a horrible grin plastered over his deformed face. And in his hand, he held the same hot iron that he had planned to mark me with. All I could do was watch in horror as he moved it higher and aimed it at my heart. And just before that iron touches me…I scream and wake up."

With that nightmare mentioned, Grace became bombarded with negative emotion as she threw herself on the pile of hay breaking into sobs. Now she wished she never talked about it, but it was too late. It was what caused an old wound to reopen and force the truth out to her friends. Nobody else in the family now knew of her past but them. Ever since then, she had been haunted by other old hurts that have caused her grief, doubt, and silence among her friends. But she had also worried the rest of the family with her silence, including Pearl. With it, she had nearly hurt others as she was hurting herself. She already knew what it felt like to be taken away from someone who might have loved you dearly, even if you couldn't quite remember them that well.

"No more," she heard Mrs. Calloway tell her as a hoof rubbed down her shuddering back. "None of us can stand to see you lose it like this when there is nothing more for you to fear. You haven't forgotten already have you? It's over now, the past is over. It's time to let go of what you just told us and look at what's going on now. You're not a tiny calf anymore. I mean look around for once, you have a family that loves you and would never leave. Yes, there are times when events such as bankruptcy happen upon us, but we're still here and that's what counts."

Then Maggie came over and added, "Your old friends wanted you to be safe and happy, even if they couldn't be with you anymore. Believe me; I felt the same way when I lost the home I grew up on. But like you, everything turned out alright in the end. Know what I mean? I bet wherever they are right now, they're thinking of you; of how happy you must be. They wouldn't want you to worry about them."

Grace stopped sobbing and turned her head to face her two friends with her pink eyes still stained with tears. She didn't think of how else to react to their comforting words. "I don't know what else to say," she sniffled.

"Don't think about the past," Mrs. Calloway declared. "Think of what you like to see on this farm, the bees, the birds, the beautiful flowers. Think of pleasant things happening tomorrow.

"Ok, if you insist," Grace said weakly. "But I can't stop thinking about it. No matter how hard I try, it's like a sickness seeping in. Although I'm really grateful that I made it through, I'll never understand why I was taken from my real mother."

Just when she thought she had no more tears to shed, some new ones were forming in the corners of her eyes. Maggie and Mrs. Calloway looked at each other sadly for a moment and could only stay beside Grace as she poured out her aching heart. Perhaps talking her into being happy again was not the right way to handle this problem of hers. What she needed was time to let the hurt slip away and fade in the back of her mind. For them, that would take some more time and patience. For a while now, they allowed her to let out the rest of her grief until she would regain her composure and be willing to talk to them again. Even if the two weren't that good with handling hurtful feelings, it was time they started to give it a try and see how it turns out. Everything Grace had told them weighted on her heart as it did when she was younger. Talking about it seemed to have made it feel a lot worse more than making it feel better. Nobody ever liked to talk about bad memories because of the hurt inside.

As Grace went on crying, she listened closely as her friends kept reminding her that what happened was now over; she was safe and sound with them. And if her cruel owner did show himself in front of them, they would take care of him just like they took care of Slim and his hooligans. The more she listened to their gentle words, the less grief she felt. Tonight, no harm would befall upon her. Her friends were her family and always will be. They were here to protect and look out for her without keeping their eyes off. It pained her to think about her other old friends, but part of them would always remain with her. No one is ever alone when they make a friend, even if they're not with you anymore. Throughout the rest of the night, Grace closed her eyes to concentrate on what tomorrow would bring. She would be walking amongst the flower field breathing in the heavenly, pleasant aroma with her friends. No longer did she sleep with worry, but with peace. On the morning when she wakes up, everything will be alright, as long as she had a family; always.

The End

Disclaimer: All characters of Home on the Range are the property of the Walt Disney Company. Fan-made characters that do not appear in the film are made and belong to me. Inspiration for this story came from an old wound that I'd rather not talk about. As long as I have friends, it won't hurt and bother me as much. I'd like to thank EsmeAmelia, Teentails, and Goveg for reading and reviewing. For those of you that own the HOTR soundtrack, turn to the last song Anytime You Need a Friend (not the pop version) by Alan Menken when you read the last two paragraphs of this chapter. It would add a more dramatic feel to it. Once again thank you, and now I'm off to work on my next story: Coal Mine Canyon.