Inkling 18
"Spots and Speckles"
5 x 7 inches
India Ink and white ink on Bristol board
(A Tale)
Once upon a time, when the world was young and everything was fresh as a breeze after a rainstorm, Cow was relaxing at the bottom of a hill.
Of a sudden, a lion snuck up and tried to eat her.
“Help! Help!” Cow cried as she ran, but she was full of grass and milk and the lion was gaining fast.
A Helmeted Guinea fowl — a Guinea hen — heard Cow’s cries and the lion’s growls, and, as they came around a large boulder, the bird jumped out, wings flapping in the dust. The lion startled, just long enough for Cow to get away.
“Dear Guinea Hen!” said Cow afterwards, “You saved my life! How ever can I thank you?”
Guinea Hen thought for a moment. “I would like it if, when I am eating off the ground, that you would watch my back,” she said. “That lion knows what I look like, and he’ll certainly seek revenge.”
“I will watch your back,” said Cow. “What’s more, I will give you a disguise.”
And with that, she carefully flecked and splattered Guinea Hen’s feathers with milk; this is why all Guinea’s children wear white spots to this day.