In mourning!
Early the next morning they were woken by the telephone ringing. The report about the farm had appeared in the Daily Echo. The vicar had read it and asked how he could help to save the sanctuary.
„Talk to the mayor. He can revoke the permit for the chicken battery farm. That makes the land worthless for Foulplay,“ Daniel told him.
The phone continued to ring all morning. People from the area called, who were annoyed about Foulplay.
„This doesn’t work,“ Katie said. „I cannot spend the whole day on the phone. It is the market this afternoon. I have to collect the eggs and get the vegetables from the garden. If I don’t go to the market, we won’t get any money.“
„Well, in that case it is best if one of us stayed by the phone,“ Miguel suggested. „The others help you. We can take turns, can’t we?“
The children agreed.
„Good idea. But please write down carefully who called so we can return the calls later.“
Once outside the children watched out for the jeep. It was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the newspaper article had deterred the men, Katie thought and concentrated on picking up the eggs.
„This is almost like Easter,“ Jane said.
„And you almost look like the Easter bunny,“ Sarah giggled. „Your ears have grown again.“
„You’ll probably start throwing eggs at each other next,“ said Peter. „You are so childish.“
„You are not going to fight now,“ Katie said. „at this point we have to stick together closely.“
In the afternoon they all went to the market. Lucky had to stay behind and guard the farm. It was only a small market, but there was a lot to see for the children. Some vegetables they only knew frozen or canned. Katie was approached again and again. Her customers had read the Daily Echo. Many promised to come to the farm next Monday to stop the excavators. Some offered to take in hamsters and mice. The conversations with people had a positive effect on Katie. They gave her new hope and helped her calm down.
Towards the evening they packed up the stall and drove back to the farm. In the entrance there were two police cars.
„Has anything happened?“ Peter asked.
Daniel came towards them looking worried. „Children, please go into the house straight away.“
They sensed that this was not negotiable and went inside.
„Katie, you have to be very strong now,“ Daniel took her into his arms. „They killed Jonah and Hilde!“
„Wha – What?“ Katie asked in disbelief. Her little donkey Jonah, who was always in a good mood and Hilde the cow, who was always patient? That simply could not be true!
„While you were at the market they climbed over the fence and shot the two animals. If it is any comfort I can assure you that it was a quick death,“ Daniel continued. „The police investigate the traces. There are also two reporters.“
Katie was speechless. She could not even cry, she was so horrified.
„Why did Lucky not intervene?“ she asked after a moment.
„Somebody locked him in the barn. We are lucky that they did not harm him.“
„And what about the geese?“
„Most likely they will have gabbled, but there wasn’t anybody here who could hear them. You have to take care of the children now, Katie. They mustn’t watch, while the bodies are taken away.“
Katie went inside. The children were waiting for her in the kitchen.
„Something very bad happened, right?“ Maria asked. „You look so sad.“
„I am very sad.“ Tears were running down her face now. She told the children, what she had heard from Daniel.
„This is so unfair! The animals went through so much in the past and now this! You’ve heard Hilde’s story yesterday. Jonah had a similar hard life.“
„Was Jonah on a transport too? Was he going to be slaughtered in another country too?“ Peter asked.
„Most unlikely. You can’t eat monkeys,“ Maria claimed.
„Donkeys, not monkeys“, Miguel corrected her. „Of course you can eat donkeys. At home in Spain they make a salami from donkeys. It is very spicy.“
„Right, I had forgotten about that,“ Maria said.
„Jonah was not about to be slaughtered,“ Katie continued. „He was on the road with a small circus.“
„Circus is awesome,“ Tom shouted.
„The acts performed by people are indeed awesome. But the animals are frequently treated badly in circuses. They are always on the road and are kept in small cages. I am sure you have already seen, how sad the tigers look in such a circus trailer.“
The children nodded.
„The animals are often beaten to make them learn their acts,“ Katie went on.
„And what kind of acts did Jonah perform?“ asked Tom.
„Jonah performed together with a clown. He was to count and do other things, that donkeys normally don’t do. If Jonah didn’t want to perform, he was beaten with a stick. One time, when he was severely beaten again, a spectator with a video camera happened to be there. He filmed everything and went to the police with the video tape. The clown was reported for cruelty to animals.“
„And how did Jonah come to you?” Miguel asked.
„The clown was already known to the police because of other crimes. He fled abroad. And because all the animals of the circus suffered, the authorities confiscated the animals and distributed them among zoos and sanctuaries. Jonah came to us, because the animal shelter in town does not have enough space for such a big animal like a donkey.“
„Did Jonah perform his act for you?“ Jane asked.
„No, he did not have to do this ever again. In the beginning he was very frightened of people. But finally he realised that we meant well.“ Katie smiled. „He even became a jolly character. Even though he was not young anymore, he frequently jumped up and down the field for several minutes. He got quite attached to Hilde. He always stayed near her.“ Katie sighed. „I cannot image life without them! But their deaths must not be in vain! Now we definitely won’t surrender.“
„Can I throw flowers into their grave?“ Sarah asked.
„And can I throw my Teddy bear?” Jane inquired.
„I’m afraid there won’t be any grave,“ Katie said. „It is against the law to burry big animals in the garden. Jonah and Hilde will be taken away shortly.“
„By a butcher?“ asked Tom.
„No they go to the processing plant. They will be processed into pet food.“ Katie's eyes were moist.
The kids stared at the floor. For a while it was very quiet in the room. Then Peter asked, „What are we going to do to protect the other animals?“
„I think we should take them all into the stable.“
„We’ll keep watch in the stable,“ suggested Miguel.
„We can all sleep there,“ Maria said. „I sleep with the piglets.“
„Do you know, how you will stink afterwards?“ Miguel asked. „The smell will never disappear. You can never go to school again, because nobody will want to sit next to you.“
Maria was horrified.
„Actually it’s not that bad,“ Katie said. „But we can’t even think about sleep now. There’s still so much to do. Peter, could you please go to the computer and check whether anybody has answered our cry for help?“
Peter disappeared into the office. Katie and the children fed the mice and hamsters and gave them water. Daniel entered the room. He gave Katie a nod.
„The police have left.“
„We will sleep with the animals tonight,“ Maria proudly announced.
Katie told Daniel about their plan to take all the animals into the stable and keep watch with them. Daniel liked the idea. They were about to go to the field, when Peter entered the kitchen with a stack of papers.
„So many e-mails arrived, that I had to print them for you, so you can look at them later at your own time.“ He put the stack on the kitchen table and joined the others.
It was not easy to move the animals into the stable. They were very nervous. Katie cried out loud, when she looked out for Jonah and Hilde in vain. With great difficulty they managed to move the geese. They did not want to leave their pond and gabbled ear splittingly. They even snapped at the children’s calves.
„You must not hold that against them,“ Daniel said. „They don’t know you. And they are upset anyway, after what happened this afternoon. Animals sense when another animal is afraid. The agitation passes on from one animal to another. They don’t know that we only mean well.“
It had started to get dark when all the animals were finally inside. There was a lot of noise, the chickens cackled, the geese gabbled, the cows mooed, the goats bleated and Lucky barked. The children built beds for themselves from bales of straw. Daniel got woollen blankets from the house. Katie brought a tray with sandwiches and a jug of peppermint tee. The children, however, could not enjoy this adventure as much as they would have at another time. Again and again their thoughts returned to the terrible things which had happened in the afternoon. Katie and Daniel read the e-mails. They were relieved that many animal lovers had announced their support for Monday. They would charter buses. A major TV-station intended to send a camera crew. That afternoon Katie had considered giving in and making plans on how to re-home the animals. But now she was utterly determined to continue to fight and be it only for the sake of Jonah and Hilde
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