WORDS TO USE: singer – casserole – moose – shout – rose

It was mid-September in Rocky Mountain National Park. The thick stand of aspens along Glacier Creek were turning gold. Bears, elk, bighorn sheep, bobcats, mountain lions, deer, coyotes, marmots, numerous birds, and moose did their best to co-exist there year-round. It got annoying to all of them when tourists started showing up by the dozens to frantically snap pictures of the area and of the animals living there.

Harry ignored the intruders to his home area. They weren’t important to him. He was in “The Mood” for finding a mate. He’d been wandering his usual cow hunting grounds for what seemed like forever, and he was tired of this nonsense. He’d even already done battle with another male and won the right to a particular female who had caught their eye.

But the obstinate female was evading him. Every time he’d start getting close to her, she’d glance back at him with a gleam of mischief in her eyes, and then dash off.

Okay, enough of this game of hers! He needed to make it clear that he meant business.

He stopped in the middle of the field and planted his hooves. He wasn’t much of a singer, but he could shout out a bellow that should be heard by her. Probably heard by any females within miles. Only one mattered though.

As he’d imagined her obedience, she froze in mid-run.

He puffed out his chest in success and waited for her to finally come trotting back to him, for the inevitable mating play. Oh, yeah, he was definitely ready to “play.”

Except Rose turned and glared daggers at him. Not even a hint of acceptance for his plan. She took a small step toward him and gave a long, quavering moan not of desire, but of warning. Her grunt of the familiar cough-like moo-aghs sounded more like cass-er-ole. What the heck was that?

While he was shocked by her continued resistance, by her strange moo sound, she suddenly flashed him a come-hither smile. Then she walked slowly, swinging her hips in temptation, to the nearby row of trees. She stopped to look back at him clearly wondering why he wasn’t following her.

Well, heck! He raced after the sassy cow. She didn’t need to entice him again!