The Other Side

“Today’s the day,” Bob said.

“Which day?” Ramses asked.

“You know, the day,” Bob said.

“Nope, I have no idea,” Ramses said. “Hey, I think I found a dandelion.”

”Really?” Bob asked. “Hey, what’s that over there?”

“Where?” Ramses turned his head to look.   “I didn’t see anything. Wait. Where’s the dandelion?”

Bob chewed a few more times and swallowed. “What dandelion?”

Ramses narrowed his eyes. “Bob?”

”So, did you remember what day it is?”   Bob asked.

“No.”

Bob tossed his head back and stood tall. “Today is the day we go to the other side.”

“Which side of where?” Ramses asked. “Are we going to the moon?   I knew that sheep would be the first to the moon. We just have a way of getting into impossible places.”

“No, the other side of the fence, of course. We’ve only been talking about it forever,” Bob said.

“Oh, right. It’s greener over there. More dandelions,” Ramses said. He raised his chin and looked off into the distance. “It’s a noble undertaking, of course, but someone must blaze the trail for the lambs that follow.” He looked at Bob and grinned. “So, how are we getting over there? Rocket boots?”

“You have rocket boots?” Bob asked.   “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“No, I hoped you did,” Ramses said. “So, can you step through fences with seven league boots? Or do you smash into the fence going full speed?”

“You have seven league boots?” Bob asked.

“No, I thought you did,” Ramses said.

“I don’t have any boots. I thought we could climb the fence. Our ancestors climbed mountains. A little fence shouldn’t be a big deal,” Bob said.

Ramses jumped up and down in a little circle. “I’ve always wanted to go climbing. Do you have the proper gear? Safety first and all that.”

“What are you talking about? We’re sheep. Where do you get all these ideas?” Bob asked.

“Does that mean no gear? Not even a helmet?” Ramses asked.

“Nope.”

“Great. Let’s go.” Ramses hopped towards the fence.

It took all afternoon to get to the top of the fence. Ramses looked down. “I think we can just jump from here.”

Bob looked down. “I think this was a bad idea.”

“Geronimo!” Ramses jumped, hit the ground and rolled.

“Are you still alive?” Bob asked.

“I don’t know. Is this heaven?” Ramses asked.

Bob jumped. “Oof.   That hurt.”

“I think you got grass stains,” Ramses said. “Right over there.”

“Never mind that,” Bob said. “We made it. We’re on the other side!”

Ramses looked around. “Are you sure? It looks like where we were before. I think the other side is supposed to be greener.”

Bob looked around. “You’re right. I thought there would be more dandelions.”

Ramses squinted and looked through the fence. “Did we get turned around? That side over there is the greener side.”

“I don’t think so,” Bob said. He looked through the fence. “That side does look greener. Maybe we got mixed up when we were on top of the fence. I was mostly paying attention to how high up we were.”

“Well, maybe we can go to the other side of the fence tomorrow,” Ramses said.   “Oh, hey, look. I found another dandelion.”

“Really?” Bob asked. “Hey, what’s that over there?”