They are too far away to know for sure . Their window ’ s a little smaller than yours is too , and the pane ’ s a bit worse off – a bit chipped and choppy . They won ’ t bother fixing Directly In Front Of You ’ s pane though , you just have to have what you ’ re given , you guess . Not worth the hassle , you guess . Maybe that ’ s something you ’ d like – to see Directly In Front Of You a little better . That would be nice . Maybe they could make your window a little bigger , a little clearer , too . Because of course the cows get in the way .
Oh yes , the cows . There are two cows in the Courtyard . Beautiful beasts . They are extraordinary , like they ’ ve been sewn together with spare fabric ; black and white and gold and sandy . Their eyes stick out like little flies , darting from one side of a tiny room to the other . Looking at you . Calming you . They are very calming . Perhaps that is why they were put there - to calm you . To keep your whole world serene and lovely . Because one day , your tea in hand , you looked out the big window and there were cows . Of course you didn ’ t know what they were then , but you read about them in a book . You have four books : one on Nature , one on Science , one on Arts , one on Housekeeping . Nature , page 3378 : COWS : Of the ox breed , full developed and domesticated , kept for milk or beef produce . Bos Taurus . The cows sigh into the Courtyard , and the sigh slips across the buildings and helps you sleep . You wanted to ask the others if they saw where the cows came from . But you ’ ve never spoken to them . You didn ’ t know how . The glass maintains your equality . Four sides of a square should never cross . If the sides cross it would no longer be a square . The shape would be incorrect .
So , one day the cows came , and you watched , and they stayed . The cows from the little square of blue . Now , during the day , they wander aimlessly across the Courtyard . You think it ’ s made of stone . And they huddle together at night , especially when it rains . But they shouldn ’ t worry , the rain never stays . It gathers between the stone bumps on the floor and quickly disappears . You wonder if it gives them comfort or warmth or something of that kind , to always have their bodies touching . One day you peered out and they were licking the walls . That was funny . Can cows eat stone ? The other day they were resting their head against the wall . They did that all day . That was a dull day . You banged on the window to make them move but they didn ’ t . Silly creatures – their bellies like that musical instrument with lots of rectangles . What ’ s it called ? It doesn ’ t really matter . So you went back and read or washed or did whatever it is you do in your world for all that time .
Summer ’ s here though , and that ’ s exciting ; you got bored of the cold . What is it called ? Whiter ? The cold season ? You can ’ t remember , and you can ’ t be bothered to find it in the
A Courtyard 78