Uncle Bertie was the patriarch of the family and once again Christmas was to be celebrated at his
farm in Dorset. He had been born in 1900 and so had not only lived at the time of the 1917 communist
revolution in Russia but had, in fact, become a communist. He never once admitted to being
red but his incessant praise of Russian exploits made it obvious that he was a 'closet'
communist. Everything Russia did was bigger and better than anything in the West. Vast canals had
been dug and rivers diverted, mountains tunnelled or demolished. Everything on a grand scale.
Whenever he told me a Russian story, that is, whenever he spoke to me, I always responded in a
deliberately dumb way. 'Wow' or 'Gee Whiz' or 'How wonderful.' But it made no difference, it only
lead him to relate another Ruskie triumph.
It looked as though this Christmas we would all have to suffer Uncle Bertie's Russian rubbish, but
I had an idea. On Christmas Eve, in the midst of one of his stories from Russian folk legends, I
interrupted him. I asked if it were true that the peasants declared that at midnight on Christmas
Eve, the cows could talk. He said it was a myth from North-Eastern Russia. I said I believed
it to be true. Everyone laughed. I then said that Uncle Bertie's stories over the years had so
convinced me of the wonders of Russia that even this story, despite its incredible nature, very
likely had a grain of truth. I suggested we all go down to Uncle Bertie's cowshed at midnight and
listen to his cows.
With a lot of laughter, it was agreed that we would go to the cowshed at 11.45. Until that time
we celebrated the season singing carols and imbibing some rather pleasant wine, although the
champagne was being reserved for Christmas Day.
Just before midnight we headed out for the cowshed with Uncle still praising Russia. I opened the
cowshed door by swinging the latch out of its slot. Everyone entered the shed. I remarked 'Better
not have any lights on as it might upset the cows.' and 'Don't smoke or strike a match, the hay
in here is so dry it would make a giant bonfire.' The cows Daisy, Clover and Tinkerbell were
undisturbed and continued chewing their cud and munching hay. I began to sing 'Away in a manger'
and everyone joined in. In the almost total blackness I could see the stars shining through the
open doorway of the shed. I sidled my way to the doorway, slipped outside, closed the door and
tapped the latch down into its slot. Everyone was now locked inside. They could stay there for an
hour before I would return to release them. Meanwhile, I went back to the house and sampled
Uncle Bertie's champagne and ate a slice of his Christmas pudding.
When I returned to the cowshed I listened to the despondent talk, 'It's no use; we'll have to wait
'til morning when the milk-maid comes in.' and 'No! You will certainly not strike a match to look
for something to get us out of here. You'll just have to wait.'
All attempts to force open the door soon ceased. The joviality of the party had also ceased with
everyone resigned to waiting for the milk-maid. Quietly, I unlatched the door, opened it a little
and slipped inside leaving the door ajar. I edged through the crowd and headed to the back of the
barn where I knew there was a heap of soft hay. I curled up in this warm nest and, thanks to
Uncle's champagne, was soon sleeping like a baby.
Hours later, I was shaken awake. 'Oh, I went to sleep and missed everything. Did the cows
talk?'
'What? You don't know what's been happening? We were unable to get out of the shed until this
morning when the milk-maid opened the door. But there's the mystery of it; the door wasn't
latched. And another mystery, while we've been trapped in the cowshed someone has been drinking
Uncle's champagne and eating his plum pudding.'
'It sounds as though Father Christmas stopped by. But did the cows say anything?'
'No!' and 'Of course not.' and 'Don't be stupid.' were spoken by the disgruntled, tired
gathering. After the most uncomfortable start ever to a Christmas, apparently none of the party,
including Uncle Bertie, was interested in cows talking.
I seized the moment, 'Ah! Uncle Bertie, I've worked out why the cows didn't talk. Cows use the
Eastern Orthodox calendar and it has a later Christmas Eve than ours. We are all going to have to
come back down to the cowshed on the 6th of January.'
A low groaning sound filled the shed. Where did it come from? It may have been Daisy, Clover and
Tinkerbell mooing but I couldn't say for certain.
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