A man was waiting in his car at a level crossing and in front of him was a horse-drawn cart piled high with hay. There was a cow tethered to the back of the cart. The car driver noticed that the cart driver was wearing a crash helmet and he thought this rather funny.
As the train still hadn't appeared, nor could it be heard, the man got out of his car to stretch his legs. It was warm and sunny and the air was still. The only sounds were the buzzing of bees and the songs of birds. The man sat on the raised grassy bank at the side of the road, among the wild flowers and as he again looked at the cart, he noticed that the cow was eating the hay. He started laughing. 'Hey! Your cow's eating the hay off your wagon.' he shouted.
The cart driver got down and came round to see. He began smacking the cow on the head but it carried on eating. 'Give it a bash with your crash helmet.' The observer suggested. The cart driver removed his helmet and used it to whack the cow sharply between the eyes. The startled cow jumped backward pulling the cart into the front wing of the car. There was a tinkle of glass as the headlight broke, then the load of hay slid off the cart onto the bonnet.
Just then the train came. It appeared without warning and the
sound was deafening. The two drivers, the horse and the cow stood frozen. Then, just
as suddenly as they had appeared, the train and the noise vanished and once again,
the only sounds were the buzzing of the bees and the singing of the birds.