Tense & Perspective Exercise Two

I peddled my bike across the short grass of the playground. We were in Wales, at the caravan site by the sea where we used to go every year as a family. Around me, the wooden frames were dark with rain, and I could smell the wetness of the grass. The sky was cloudy, but some sun was beginning to shine through.1

My brother was beside me on his bike. My father waited for us at the stile. When we reached it, he lifted our bikes over. I thought he was very strong. When on the other side of the stile, we got back on our bikes and started to peddle towards the stile at the other end of the field. Dad fell behind.2

When we were half way across the field, we began to race. But after a while, we began to notice that some of the cows were walking towards us. At first we thought it was nothing, but then more and more of them began to walk, and eventually they began to run. Their feet made the ground thunder, and they ran in a silence which made the scene surreal. I was terrified, and I didn’t know why they were chasing us. We began to peddle faster, but it was hard because the ground was so bumpy.3

When we were near the stile, my brother got stuck on a tuft of grass and fell behind. I was too afraid to go back for him, and my fear got the better of my guilt. But when I reached the stile, I looked back and saw that he had freed himself. When he reached the stile, I gave him my hand and helped him over the fence.4

We stood behind the fence for safety, but realised the cows had stopped chasing us. Instead, they were clustered around Dad in the middle of the field. He stood strong and tall, like a giant, it seemed to us, shouting and waving his arms around, even slapping some of the closer beasts. They edged closer to him, but he stood his ground. We were full of wonder and admiration for him.5

But we were also scared for him, and the terrifying possibility occurred to us that he might be trampled to death. So, we climbed back over the fence and ran towards him. He stood there, bellowing as before, and slapping the cows that got too close. Eventually, they began to disperse, and Dad took our hands and walked away. ‘Why did they chase us, Dad?’ I asked.6

‘Because they’re stupid,’ he replied.7

‘Why didn’t they trample you?’ I asked.8

‘I stood my ground and wasn’t afraid,’ he replied.9

‘Oh,’ I said. My heart was beating quickly and my legs felt like jelly, but I felt safe and secure as long as my dad held my hand. It seemed like nothing could touch him, and I was glad no one had been hurt. Afterwards, it would occur to me that we could have been trampled, and if I or my brother had flipped our bikes over, then we would have been killed. But such things don’t bear thinking about.10