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The Chianina |
| Go to My Daily Cow® for little tidbits of bovine information. |
| The audio was recorded with students from Santa Rita Elementary and Egan Junior High in Los Altos, CA. The Chianina on-line script matches what the students actually performed. So what you hear and what you read will match. (This is a great way to learn English and to learn how to read.) |
| If you do not see The Chianina (3.8 MB) mp3 controller below, you need to enable plug-ins. |
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Cast In Order Of Appearance: Announcer
ANNOUNCER Cows from Italy in Queens, New York? Today we are talking to the Chianina.
REPORTER Wow! This is great - seeing a Chianina at the Festival of Virgil here in Queens. CHIANINA Well, of course I’m here. Virgil wrote The Georgics well before he wrote The Aeneid, that national epic poem about Rome and the glory of the Empire back in 20 BC or so. REPORTER And what are The Georgics? CHIANINA A collection of poems which taught about the art of husbandry. And husbandry, which as you well know, is the practice of cultivating the land and raising stock. Jeez- I thought everyone knew about The Georgics and husbandry. REPORTER Yeah, well, you wish the average pedestrian knew a bit more about where his food came from. But you’ll have to forgive them for not reading poems in Latin on the subject. And this, of course, is where you come in. CHIANINA Absolutely! Virgil loved the Chianina cattle. We are one of the oldest breeds in existence and we are what he saw as a young man on the farm back in northern Italy. REPORTER I can see why you inspired him. You are quite beautiful. You have short white or steel grey hair - CHIANINA - and we have black pigmented skin on our muzzle and the switch at the end of our tail is also black. We are quite stylish. During Virgil’s time we were used primarily as a draft animal so our muscular bodies and long legs also inspired the Roman sculptors. REPORTER And today? What brings you to Queens besides the festival? CHIANINA Ah, you know, the usual. Being large, with considerable length of leg - we have good action and heavy muscling. We are not hard to get along with, if you get my drift. REPORTER As long as I don’t crowd you? CHIANINA Yeah, as long as you don’t forget the respect we deserve as the bovine exalted by Virgil and the Romans. And the family we have since become. It’s all about family, as you may well know. REPORTER Ah yes, I know. CHIANINA Good. ‘Cause I’d hate for you to forget that here at the Festival of Virgil, that it’s the Chianina that makes all the rules. REPORTER You do. CHIANINA We do. REPORTER I won’t forget. CHIANINA Good. Enjoy your gelato. Carpe Lac Lactis! REPORTER What? CHIANINA Seize the milk.
©2006-2011 Lishka DeVoss/Kranky Kids® |