I've seen barn cats so fierce and tough they'd make a tiger yield,
Their kittens born hissing and spitting with their tiny eyes still sealed.
A lot of time and gentle hands could make one a great companion,
But just as easily, when nature calls, it could turn wild again.

I think most creatures that we deem to be domesticated by man
Have a dream like my horse, Windy, to find freedom once again.
She gazes at a herd of deer with a wispy sort of glance.
I know she's thinking, "I'd run with them, if I only had the chance!"

I caught her in the midst, I'm sure, of a "freedom" fantasy
When she nibbled on an apple branch beneath a fresh-pruned tree.
The dry leaves rustled like a whisper and I think she heard them say,
"Something's coming! Be on alert! Wolves are on the way!"

Windy perked her head and cocked an ear, then ran off toward the south,
Her teeth so clenched the branch was stuck dangling from her mouth.
And as she ran the rustling leaves trailed noisily at her rear,
Warning her more urgently now that wolves were coming near.

She charged the fence and wheeled back, trying to dodge the evil beasts.
She raced up a wooded path where thorny vines nipped at her feet.
Her little legs pumped the ground so hard her hoof beats became a hum,
But alas, she finally stopped her flight, too exhausted to go on.

The branch dropped delicately from her lips and the leaves gave one last sigh.
She snorted at it and walked away, but still watched with a wary eye.
When I went out to retrieve the branch, Windy whinnied a warning call.
"If there's wolves in there," I comforted her, "Trust me, you outran them all..."