the cow that tried to stop the little engine that could

Deep within the peaceful sublimity of the Swiss alps, a continuous contest is waged. 

Train conductors versus cowherds. 

Who will win? Nobody knows.

It had been a long day, with a strenuous 10 mile hike through the Swiss alps. Our group boarded a train, ready to get to our chalet in the next valley, eat food, and rest our weary feet.

The train chugged away from the station, moving slowly along the cog track that aids it up the steep incline. It lulled me into a semi-conscious state. There is nothing more soothing than a train ride after a long day hiking.

Until, that is, a truly ear-splitting whistle rent the air, and the train ground to a stop. Ears ringing, I looked out the window to see a cowherd flipping the conductor off. A cow had planted itself stubbornly on the tracks, bringing the train to a screeching halt.

One would think the cowherd would be glad that the cow survived the encounter. But it appeared that he was busy working to move an entire herd of reluctant cows up the mountain to greener pastures. The shrieking whistle had not only scared the cow off the tracks, but also scared the rest of the herd back down the mountain, to the ire of the cowherd.

The conductor was not particularly cheery, either. The train chugged to a start, resuming its journey up the mountain, and then it stopped. For quite a while. Just as we were getting antsy, it started back up again. Then stopped.

This time we heard a lot of banging from the front of the train. Then the conductor barreled through the train, muttering to himself something along the lines of "I can't believe this happened AGAIN."

The brakes had locked up after the stress of stopping to spare the cow. We were in no danger of rolling down the mountain, but it seemed that we might not move up it any time soon either.

More banging, then another false start.

Just as we began to wonder what would happen if they couldn't fix the train, it began to move again - and continued chugging. I thought of the little engine that could. One for the train conductor - cows scared down the mountain and a train that made it to its destination.

We wended our way home, glad that the only hamburger on the menu for the night was the hamburger that we'd bought at the store.