The Buffalo and the Butterfly

By Ray Derrick

A bittersweet story of love and heartbreak set in rural Thailand. Written as a childrens' story, it is based on a human relationship between an ageing foreign male, commonly called a ‘buffalo’, and a much younger local Thai female, commonly known as a ‘butterfly’.
Many ‘buffaloes’ find their ‘butterflies’ and live happily ever after.
However, sadly, some of them do not!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ray Derrick
• Release date: Dec 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370677351

Ray Derrick

Ray Derrick was brought up and educated in Deal, Kent, England, UK. He joined the British Army as a ‘boy’ soldier in 1961 and then served in the Royal Artillery as a topographical surveyor until 1974, attaining the rank of Sergeant. On leaving the Army in 1974 he worked on various land seismic oil & gas exploration crews throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East until 2002. In 2002 he became a Client Representative working as a consultant Health & Safety Advisor for major oil companies, again worldwide. He lived in Spain from 2002 until retirement in 2014. Married for 40yrs, he moved to Thailand after the death of his wife Margaret in 2014. He now lives permanently in Phuket in Thailand.

Book preview

The Buffalo & the Butterfly

(A bittersweet story of love and heartbreak set in rural Thailand. It is based on the relationship between an ageing foreign male, commonly called a ‘buffalo’, and a much younger local Thai female, commonly known as a ‘butterfly’.

Many ‘buffaloes’ find their ‘butterflies’ and live happily ever after.

However, sadly some of them do not!)

Ray Derrick

Copyright © Ray Derrick 2016

All Rights Reserved

No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author

Chapter 1

In a distant land called Isaan, in the country of Thailand, lived a very old and sad buffalo.

He was very sad because he was too old to work and his owner had put him in a small meadow with a fence all around so that he could not escape. The gate was always closed.

In a corner of the meadow was an old rice barn with a palm roof. This was where he slept at night, and snoozed in the day time if the sunshine