Night in the CountryFarmer Jack Straw had spent the last 10 years of his life being nurtured and readied for this moment by his Father; the veteran farmer Roger Straw . Jack had watched his Father and late Grandfather skilfully doing it whenever it happened.
It was a bitterly cold evening and his breath was curling up in front of him. The night chill was the last thing on his mind. The thing that was really on his mind was the welfare of his treasured sheep Dolly. Jack's family has been involved in farming long before Jack was born, and all Jack thought and dreamt as a child was this moment; the moment when he would take responsibility for the family flock.
With his fathers eyes watching him in the background, there was a sma
...ll tear rolling down his cheek as Farmer Roger remembered when he was in this position as a mere inexperienced 13 year old. He had dedicated his life to his job, but after his stroke the previous year he felt that now was the right time that his 20 year old should take the reigns of their farm which had been passed down within the family for generations.A small shriek from Dolly prompted a half excited and nervous cry, "I can see its head!" exclaimed Jack, and Roger had to restrain himself from attempting to put a hand in but he had to pull himself back. The significance of this moment was that it was not just Jacks first time lambing by himself, but the sheep that he is lambing was born on the same day that Jack had entered the world.
Through his whole childhood, there wasn't any other animal that Jack felt he was attached to as he was to Dolly. Therefore, there was also a lot of emotional feeling behind this lambing. Jack took a deep breath in, looked to the sky, and mumbled a prayer under his breath and looked at the helpless sheep lying there, withering in pain. If only Jack could ease the pain of Dolly, he would feel better, but the trembling sheep's shrieks grew louder with every second. Also, read Night of the Scorpion questions and answersRoger was nervous, and he insisted that Jack should not hold back from asking for a helping hand with this fragile cause, only for Jack to passionately respond, "I alone must ensure that mother and baby are united!" Roger decided to step back and let the young lad come of age alone and fulfil this momentous task. It was late, and he turned around towards the house to put the kettle on. He knew that Dolly was in safe hands with Jack.Roger returned to the house full of mixed emotions. He picked up the picture of his late wife who had dedicated her life to helping Jack work the farm to perfection.
He looked at his wedding ring and thought that if she could only see what her only son was doing, she too would be equally proud. Roger sat down on the couch only to begin falling into a deep sleep.Roger awoke to find that his tea was cold. He also noticed that the fridge door had been left
partially open. He threw back the heavy curtains, only to be temporarily blinded by the early morning sun, which was throwing its dazzling rays across the field.
With a smile from ear to ear beaming upon his face, he mustered all of his strength to sprint across the pathways that led to the old shed. As he wrenched open the door, which let out a loud and rusty creak, he gasped at the sight which confronted him.Kneeling down on the hay-strewn floor, with a bottle of milk in one hand and a small and rather weak looking lamb only a few hours old in the other, Jack looked like he had everything under control. With a jump, he turned around to see his father standing tall and proud. "Well my son, what are you going to call it?" he asked, "this one is going to be called Tom, after Granddad", this confused his father "By the heavens!" he exclaimed.
" What do you mean this one?" and as if by cue, there was a shrill bleat, and from around the corner hobbled an identical lamb to the one that Jack had in his hand. "And this one is called Roger, named after a man who shows tremendous love, devotion and loyalty, no matter what the situation". Roger was left dumbfounded. Jack placed Tom on the floor and embraced his father, both of them with tears of joy streaming down both of their relieved faces.
Night in the CityIt was well past midnight, a time when you would expect people to be happily asleep; but this was far from the case with Nurse Alice Doyle. This was the
first time that she was working in a hospital after her graduation a mere 5 weeks before. She nervously turned a page in a glossy fashion magazine on which she wasn't even focussing on while sitting in the hospital staff room waiting for her first call, her glassy eyes showed that her mind was in another place. Suddenly, the double doors swung open making way for the plump frame of Dr Woodley as he waddled hurriedly into the room. He glanced around the room, his beady eyes darting eagerly from empty chair to empty chair until they set firmly on Alice. "Aren't you Doyle, the new nurse?" he impatiently inquired of the now standing Alice "I.
..I am doctor" was her stuttering response "am I required anywhere?" she inquired, "yes, birth in ward 22a, you will assist Nurse Jeffers, now hurry!" exclaimed the breathless Doctor.The knowledge of most of her university textbooks together with all the endless hours of lectures together with her comfortably passed exams for her degree had provided Alice with a high level of confidence upon her entry to her new career, a career she had always dreamed of doing. Nothing could prepare her, however, for the magnitude of what she was about to do.
Her heart felt as if it were trying to escape from her ribcage as she rapidly paced her way towards her destination. She could not keep out the thought of the possibility to blunder in this momentous task.For the past 5 hours, Rose Smith had been in labour screaming in pain for the majority of the time, but soon all the hard work of the previous nine months
would prove to be worth it. Sister Gordon had left the ward due to the growing number of births occurring in the crowded hospital. This left only Sister Jeffers to deal with this arrival alone.
Salvation came in the form of Nurse Alice Doyle, who calmly entered the ward and quickly initiated a quick delivery through a mixture of positive encouragement and confident medical intervention.Watched by her recently wheelchair bound husband, a stroke victim at the age of 41. The stress of the last month had been too much for Rose to take and at the late stages of birth, there had been a severe risk that she may lose the two babies due to the woman's state. However, at the climax of what could have been a catastrophe the appearance of Nurse Alice Doyle with her fresh expertise, her coolness under pressure and skill had saved the day. The newborns had already been whisked off to have all the necessary medical checks by a Nurse Jeffers. Minutes later, they were returned to proud mum and dad with tears streaming down both parents faces with the thought of how lucky they were to have made it to the other side of their short lived nightmare.A week later Rose followed by her husband, entered the fresh outdoor breeze outside the grey hospital pushing along her new little boy Tom, and her new little girl, Alice.
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