A rural child's tough childhood turned out to be a war with livestock

Rural families all raise some livestock, and as kids we often matched wits and courage against these animals, and one wrong move could set off a full-blown war. Back then a neighbor kept a few geese, and people say three geese beat one dog. That was indeed true. These big geese stood as tall as a four- or five-year-old child, and their bodies were big. The geese were all clever; when I passed by with adults there was no problem, but when I passed by alone it was terrible. I was often chased and bitten until my backside was black and blue, which kept me from passing the neighbor's house for a while. Don't be fooled by these little beasts' short legs; when they ran and flapped their wings they were faster than me. Gradually I grew bolder, and carried a stick; when a goose chased me I swung the stick back at it, and after that these geese ran away whenever they saw me.

In the countryside you must never mess with a broody hen; these hens are fiercely protective of their chicks. If they sense a threat they raise their feathers and cluck, and at times like this even a big rooster fears them a little. Back then I was pecked by a hen until I bled, and it hurt terribly. Of course I had to get revenge: I found a basket and propped it up with a wooden stick, tied a rope to the stick, and put a little millet under the basket. When the whole flock of chickens went to peck the millet I pulled the rope and caught the whole flock, and for this I got a good beating.

People say a barking dog doesn't bite, but that's because you haven't been in the countryside. Rural families all keep a mongrel dog to guard the gate. The dogs raised in the countryside are all tied up, and when they see a stranger they want to pounce and bite. One naughty kid thought that since the dog was tied up it couldn't bite him, so he took a wooden stick to tease the dog. The dog bared its fangs just like a wolf on an animal documentary, and just as it was about to bite that naughty kid I went up and pushed him away, and in the end tragedy struck me and I got bitten by the dog. Luckily the dog saw it was its own master and held back its strength, so it was only a bruise. If it had bitten that naughty kid, a chunk of flesh would have been torn off.

Outside the classroom there was a flowerbed of Chinese roses, and when the flowers bloomed there were lots of bees. I heard someone had been stung, so I took a little bottle and started catching bees. What scared me most at the time was this kind of carpenter bee, which was big, and I heard it hurt a lot to be stung. I never actually tried it though. Who has ever been stung by this kind of bee?

The sheep raised in the countryside were mostly kept free-range around the home. Normally sheep are not aggressive, but if they go mad they chase people and butt them, and being butted hurts quite a bit, and if you're unlucky it knocks you to the ground.

The rabbits I raised as a kid in the countryside, don't be fooled by how cute and dopey these little beasts look, but a cornered rabbit will bite too. Of course I was still small, only three years old. When I saw someone feeding a rabbit with grass, I foolishly stuffed my hand into the cage, and that's how the tragedy happened. To this day the index finger of my right hand is still missing a piece of flesh.

Cats are especially full of personality, which is maybe why people like them. But this creature turns hostile at the drop of a hat; one second it's enjoying your petting, and the next second your hand has a few more scratches on it, and by the time you want to hit it, it has already run up to the roof. We used to keep a big black cat at home, and all kinds of small animals became its prey; it could even catch the rabbits and pigeons we raised, and it even caught a snake once, which nearly scared me so much I wet myself.

Although the pigs raised in the countryside are raised for meat, this creature is absolutely not trouble-free. We once raised a pig, and it knocked down the pigsty several times; it could jump out of a pigsty half a person tall, and later it committed a tragedy. It jumped out of the pigsty and bit two of the ducks we raised to death, and when we got home we saw duck blood all over the ground. It was probably because it hadn't been castrated cleanly, too much trouble, so it was sold before it was fully grown.

In the countryside the donkey is an important draft animal; it was used for pulling carts and pulling millstones. But donkeys are not to be messed with; this fellow will kick out with its hind legs, so never stand behind a donkey, because it's no good if you get kicked in the head. Actually standing in front of a donkey isn't safe either; I once heard of a donkey biting people, with that big mouth and teeth several cm long, and being bitten once would definitely not feel good. Better to wait until the donkey's stubborn fit passes before getting close!

Although the countryside is not as wealthy as the city, the childhood experiences there are beyond what city kids can imagine; although it was hard, it was very happy!

(The article was compiled by a little country native, thanks for subscribing)