"Animals Don't Speak English" by Hendrea Sneed

Suzanne stared & stared at the huge new farm animal that her Papa had bought for pulling the plow. She didn't mean to stare. She didn't know why she was staring. As a matter of fact, she wasn't aware she was staring at all. But then animals had always fascinated Suzanne, even as little girl. All animals intrigued her, from squirrels to birds to huge elephants & prowling panthers. She had even heard tales of fish who could breathe air called dolphins that had holes in their heads & must surface from time to time before diving again beneath the waves. Upon hearing this Suzanne had asked Papa, "But if they breathe air can they truly be called fish?" Papa dismissed the question as nonsensical, but later Suzanne found out that this query had been under debate for a long time & even now, in 1840, the issue still lingered.

 Yes, all animals enthralled her, but none had caught her attention quite like the one her gaze was fixed upon at that moment. While most of the animals on the farm seemed to wander around with a lazy stare, blindly doing their work until it was time for feeding, this animal was different. It seemed to have a focused gaze and a rhythm to its step, as if there was a song playing in its head. She even imagined that once it had actually looked up & smiled at her. Obviously she must have been mistaken, but once again it made Suzanne wonder about the intelligence of animal life. Like did they have emotions. Did they have fears and doubts? Did they hope? Could they dream? She had mentioned these questions to her older sister Elizabeth some years ago and immediately was made to feel very stupid and childish. "Of course, they don't dream! You think there are chickens and cats running around wondering about life & philosophy? Next you'll be imagining that they can talk". Suzanne had lowered her eyes & gotten quiet because Elizabeth was well educated & impossible to argue with, but in her mind she figured they could talk, if only she could understand them. She knew that the grunts and moans and nonsensical sounds they made, though not understood by her, could be understood by other animals for she had seen them respond to each other and knew that there was some form of communication going on. 

 As Suzanne became lost in her thoughts her attention had wandered away from the beast and before she knew it the animal had been unhitched from its plow for a short rest and was walking towards her. She felt afraid and wanted to leap from the fence and high tail it towards the house, but her curiosity got the best of her & she watched as it came closer. Then she looked into its eyes & it stared back into hers. She had often wondered how animals (or even human babies for that matter) knew to look a person in the eye to gain or give attention, and this animal had such a look! Almost as if it knew what she was thinking and was enjoying her inner conversation very much. The creature stepped closer, then stopped just a few feet from where Suzanne was perched on the gate. It cocked its head while still looking directly into Suzanne's eyes and she found herself fighting a strong inclination to cock her own head as well. Then the beast straightened its head and smiled at her, showing a full front row of glowing ivory teeth. At this point all Suzanne could think of was to jump off the gate and get away, but something kept her frozen there. The creature continued smiling at her and she felt as if it wanted to know something of her, to ask her a question. Suzanne was about to say to herself "That's impossible" but before she could finish the thought the animal reached out its right hand, smiled its biggest smile yet and said, "Hey there! My name is Jonah!" The next few moments were a blur. She felt herself falling backwards off the wooden fence & hitting her head on the ground, then darkness.

 When she came to her senses Papa and Elizabeth were picking her up & asking her if she was ok. As they carried her towards the house she strained to turn back & look again at the large dark beast & by this time the farm hands had wrestled the creature to the ground, tied a rope around its neck & began to beat it violently on its back and shoulders with the whips they constantly carried. To her continued astonishment the new plow pulling slave managed to turn its head, look at her then smile and wink an eye. Again, she felt her body & mind going limp but before she faded out completely from the shock of it all she said in a faint whisper, "...but animals don't speak English...".