By: Abdool A. Aziz

KOWSILLA was a lonely woman who worked at the sugar estate’s cattle pen. She loved her tough job as a cleaner and a caretaker. One day her heart ‘sank to her feet’ when she found a horse dead in childbirth, leaving its filly. She was assigned to be her ‘Nanny’ and she did a fine job. ‘Betsy’, as the animal was called, became her ‘daughter’ and she was special. The manager’s daughter was the only one to ride her and her stable was in her residence. She was a decorated pony. But Dianne died tragically and Betsy had to go back to the dirty stables.

THE RAGING BULL
One day Kowsilla wore a red shirt to work. She didn’t know that the colour ‘red’ is believed to irritate bulls. Before she knew it, the animal pounced on her and she became a rag doll. There was no one in sight to help except Betsy, who galloped to her aid but it was too late. The bull gored her to death. Betsy tried to nudge her Nanny to life. Only her clothes blew in the wind. Betsy followed in solemn procession and it was as if she stood guard at the ‘red house’ until the undertakers came. She hardly ate, and the other caretakers presumed she was probably grieving over her ‘nanny’.

THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL
The day of the funeral was a day of mourning. The estate closed down. All cried for Kowsilla and ahead of the cortege was Betsy draped in black and led by the manager, himself. He also remembered the love his daughter had for Betsy. Following the funeral, Betsy refused to leave the burial site. She sat there all night until a little girl coaxed her to leave. The sad animal was donated to the girl and she changed its name to Lovvy.

THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF LOVVY
As Lovvy grazed in the soft grass, she ate a grasshopper. She died. Grasshoppers poison animals. The manager ordered a full burial beside her nanny. She even got a bigger farewell. Her little friend cried bitterly. She was given the honour to place the gravestone ‘Lovvy and her nanny at peace and in true companionship – man and animal in loving embrace’. I was a boy when those events took place. I cried my heart out for Lovvy. She was a ‘star’ among the stable dwellers. I still mourn their absence. This pen is nervous as I write of the tragedy of man and horse in my village (1953) Kowsilla was poor but had a heart of gold. That filly was almost human – Why?