Resistance!
„Dear viewers, today we are in Twohouses at an animal sanctuary,“ the reporter spoke into the camera. „In the last couple of days this sanctuary made headlines because of the gruesome murders of some of their animals. On the premises the so-called chicken baron Foulplay wants to build a chicken farm or rather a chicken factory farm. The tenants of the farm, veterinary Dr. Daniel Finch and his wife Katie refuse steadfastly to leave the premises. Today the excavators are expected, which will start to demolish the farm. As you can see behind me, lots of people have assembled, who want to prevent the eviction. Animal lovers from all over the country have arrived to defy the big vehicles. But not only animal lovers, but also people from the village are here to demonstrate against the construction of this chicken factory. We’ll speak to some of them them now.“
The camera moved over to Daniel.
„This is Dr. Finch. What will you do, should the excavators actually turn up?“
„We will block their way with our bodies. We will put up passive and non-violent resistance. If we give up the farm, firstly we let our animals down, who are allowed to spend their old age in a good way here. Secondly we accept the suffering of millions of chickens. This means we simply can’t surrender.”
„Thank you, Dr. Finch. You wanted to say something too, little boy?“ She turned to Peter now, who did not like being addressed as „little boy“.
„I wanted to say, that within the last days Foulplay tried everything to make us give up.“
„Ladies and Gentlemen, I must explain to you that at the moment there is a group of children on the farm, who spend their holidays here.“
„Correct! We were supposed to learn how to treat animals correctly. But because Foulplay threatened us all the time, we have not yet been able to learn much. First he set fire to the barn, then he killed Hilde, the cow and Jonah, the donkey. And on top of that he hid a bomb behind the stable. But we are still here!“
„Dear viewers, obviously Mr. Foulplay himself did not carry out the attacks on the farm. The police has just confirmed to us, that last night two men were arrested, who have a connection with Mr. Foulplay. Next to me is the village vicar. What is your opinion on what happened in the past days, vicar?“
„I am appalled by Mr. Foulplay’s unchristian and ruthless behaviour. The people and animals on this farm must have had a guardian angel! It would be good, if the mayor finally recognized, that it isn’t a good idea to do business with people like Mr. Foulplay. And one has to bear in mind the suffering of the chickens. They too are our fellow beings.“
„Thank you very much for your comments , vicar. Now we have a short break. When we return, we’ll report live from our helicopter, which obverses the roads to the village from the air. Stay tuned.“
An older woman poured the reporter a mug of coffee. „It is nice, that you report about us. The world needs to know, what happens here. Would you like a peace of apple cake? Home made.“
The reporter nodded.
„Yesterday the vicar told us during service, what was about to happen on this farm today. We, the women of the parish, baked cakes right away. The many people have to eat after all. The doctor’s wife cannot deal with everything on her own.“
The reporter thanked her for the coffee and the cake. She reached for the microphone and looked into the camera. „Here we are again, ladies and gentlemen. Live from the sanctuary in Twohouses. We go to our helicopter immediately. Hello, Heli 1, can you hear me?“
„Here Heli 1, we can hear you alright.“
„Heli 1, what is happening on the roads around Twohouses?”
„We can see several construction vehicles approaching the village. They are approximately three miles away. From here we can see a bulldozer, two excavators and a demolition ball.“
„Thank you, Heli 1, we’ll get back to you in a few minutes. Dear viewers, obviously we tried to talk to the mayor. He let us know, however, that he is not available for an interview in front of the camera.“
The reporter looked around. „Where are ...? Oh, here you are. Dear viewers, these charming twins also belong to the group of children, who are spending their holidays here. You wanted to say something?“
Sarah held a white A4-sheet of paper into the camera. „Katie said, that a chicken has less space than this sheet, once it is locked into a chicken battery.“
Jane added, „But this is way too small for a chicken. Look! In fact a chicken is that big.“ She pointed to the chicken on Katie’s arm. „Even a child can see that a chicken cannot live in such a small cage. No wonder it gets ill. It hurts its feet and its feathers fall out.“
„Naked chickens look ugly,“ Sarah said. „They never see the sun. And there is no sand bath in the cages. Chickens love to roll around in sand. They need that for their feathers.“
„Thank you children. Dear viewers, isn’t it touching, how the children support the animals? Oh, I have just been told, that we have another live transmission from our helicopter now. Heli 1, is there any news?“
„Yes, this is Heli 1, once again live from the air above Twohouses. The construction vehicles are getting closer and closer to the farm. At the moment they are moving through the village and will reach the access road to the farm shortly. Since we last spoke, a silver-grey limousine joined the convoy. We assume, that this vehicles belongs to Mr. Foulplay.“
„Thank you, Heli 1. We’ll get back to you shortly. Dear viewers, as you can see, the crowd has started to move. The protestors rush to the farm entrance to stop the big vehicles from entering. We’ll move there too in order to be able to report to you, as always, directly from the frontlines. In the meantime we go back to the studio for a short break.“
The reporter and the cameraman hurried to catch up with the other people. People stood together so closely, that they had to push through to the front with the camera. The noise of the engines was clearly audible by now.
The reporter talked into her microphone again, „Dear viewers, once again we are coming to you live from the sanctuary in Twohouses, where in a few minutes man and machine will face each other. Will the protestors succeed in stopping the construction vehicles? We are here live. In this moment a bulldozer turns around the corner. It is met by a flood of mushy tomatoes and, if I see correctly, cow-pats. The bulldozer stops. We’ll try to talk to the driver and report back to you after a short commercial break. Don’t go away!“
The TV-crew pushed through to the bulldozer. The reporter just managed to avoid a cow-pat. Again and again the crowd chanted: „Here we stay! Here we stay!“
The kids stood at the very front and held up their posters. A silver-grey limousine carefully squeezed past the bulldozer. The mayor got off the car. He held a megaphone in front of his mouth and said: „Fellow citizens! I urge you to be reasonable! Don’t let yourselves be influenced by the animal rights people who have travelled here from outside! The village will flourish with the donations of Mr. Foulplay. We’ll finally be able to build a swimming pool. Some of you will find employment on the farm. Please make room! For a better future!“
The crowd booed. Tomatoes and dried cow-pats rained down on the mayor. A woman broke away from the crowd and ran towards him. She had a child in each arm.
„These children are the future, Mr. Mayor! And you want to make them ill. We know the medical report. Chicken batteries cause illness. To people and chickens!“ she shouted.
„The mayor must be working for Foulplay. He should resign!“ somebody from the crowd yelled.
„Resign! Resign!“ the protestors demanded.
„Mr. Foulplay would like to say a few words to you now,“ the mayor said and went over to the limousine.
„That’s the limit,“ Katie ran to the front. „This man tried to kill us and the children. He had two of our animals assassinated in cold blood. And despite all this he is still a free man. Is there no justice at all in this country?“
The door of the limousine opened. Mr. Foulplay got out. The car was pelted with mouldy tomatoes and dried cow-pads. One tomato hit him on the ear. Red juice dribbled slowly on his suit. At this moment a police car with flashing lights raced up and stopped next to the bulldozer. Two officers jumped out. They ran to the limousine. All of a sudden the protesters had gone quiet.
„Mr. Foulplay,“ one of the policemen said, „we are arresting you for incitement to commit murder. Your goons have confessed. You’re coming with us.“
They handcuffed him and led him to the police car. The crowd cheered. The reporter ran over to the mayor. „Dear viewers, as you can see the developments happen very fast. Mr. Mayor, would you like to say something now?“
The mayor cleared his throat. „Well, bearing in mind the fact, that Mr. Foulplay will most likely spend some years in prison, I consider the issue as closed. The village renews the contract for the sanctuary.“
People cheered and hugged each other.
Maria pushed through to the reporter. „I want to talk something.“
The reporter held the microphone for her.
„I hope that Foulplay gets a cell in prison, which is only that big,“ She held the A4-sheet into the camera. People applauded.
„Ladies and Gentlemen, with these words we say goodbye to you. Now from the sanctuary in Twohouses back to the studio.“
The drivers got back into the construction vehicles and reversed down the road. The TV-crew packed up their equipment. The animal lovers had cake and coffee, before they returned to their cars and mini-buses back in the village.
It had gone quiet again on the farm. Katie and the children let the animals onto the field again.
During dinner the phone rang. Peter’s and Tom’s parents were on the phone. They were worried because they had seen a report about what happened on the farm in the evening news.
„No, you mustn’t come for us!“ Peter said. „It is not at all boring here. They even have a computer. And tomorrow I’ll make a homepage for them.“
Back to: A bomb!