The Pet Calf by Payson Sibley Wild
A farmer addresses his calf Whitey, recalling how he raised it after its mother drowned crossing the flooded "Four Mile" creek, and how the girls of the house fed and cosseted it. Now grown, Whitey is being shipped off; the farmer, dreading the girls' grief, has Lon round it up and retreats to the barn.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Rural/Pastoral Literature · 447 words
First lines
Hey, Whitey, here's a good fat ear, / It's 'mong the last ye'll git; / Come on now, lemme rub yer nose- / Ye'r' lookin' tol' bul fit.
I'm gonna ship ye off terday, / Yew be'n here long enuff; / I s'pose 'f yew knowed what I'm a-sayin' / Yew'd think 'twas kind o' ruff
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is composed entirely in verse form with consistent rhyming couplets and metrical structure throughout.
- Narrative Poetry — The poem tells a complete story with exposition, rising action, and emotional climax through poetic verse, following a chronological narrative arc.
- Rural/Pastoral Literature — Set in a farm environment, the work explores themes of agricultural life, animal husbandry, rural labor, and the natural world central to pastoral tradition.
- Dramatic Monologue — The entire poem is structured as a single speaker (the farmer) addressing the calf, revealing character through direct speech without interruption or response.
Tags
rural life · farm animals · grief · separation · calf · livestock · domesticated animals · death · drowning · parental care · human-animal bond · American rural
What this Textopian page supports
The Pet Calf is listed on Textopian as a short story by Payson Sibley Wild, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Rural/Pastoral Literature, Dramatic Monologue, Sentimental Literature
- Length: 447 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Pet Calf by Payson Sibley Wild
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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