Maybelline

By A. R. Rand

Maybelline is no ordinary ostrich. Maybelline has a dream - Maybelline wants to be a star! Her goofy keepers, Waldo and Rocky, run a Texas ostrich farm. Maybelline is the fastest ostrich on Earth and they want her to run in the ostrich races. She runs all right...to Hollywood with the throbbing beat of “Maybelline,” the rock n’ rock classic playing in her head. Waldo and Rocky pursue Maybelline determined to get her back. On the way Maybelline meets Arby, a seven-year-old Hispanic boy, in foster care with Mary and Ralph Carter on their farm in northern California Arby wants to go to Los Angeles to find his mother. The Carters panic when they discover that Arby has runaway with Maybelline. To break into show biz, Maybelline needs an agent and finds the cigar chomping Hal Hopeful. An ostrich - a star? Why not – Maybelline has looks, legs and feathers! Will Arby find his mother? Will Maybelline realize her dream? Find out in this adventure tale of friendship and making dreams come true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. A. Randazzo
• Release date: Nov 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005357764

Book preview

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 1

There’s only one thing Maybelline ever wanted.

To be a star!

Her eyes were aglow as she thought about it.

Oh, Maybelline knew she had what it takes to be a star. Those large, long-lashed eyes, for one thing. And legs, just look at those long legs. Okay the legs were knobby compared to a human leg, but she had something humans didn’t have – feathers!

The ostrich envisioned herself running through a sunlit field in slow motion, a graceful stride, her black and white plumage flowing.

In the bird world, males have the colorful plumage, not female birds. Maybelline was unusual in that she was a female bird with the eye-catching plumage of a male bird. Not only that but there was also a remarkable pink tinge to her feathering. Maybelline said it was her flamingo heritage as flamingos are bright pink and, like her, hard to miss.

Maybelline danced around to the beat of Spanish flamingo music in her head. Olé.

Several male ostriches in the corral looked over.

In short, Maybelline thought to herself…I get noticed.

Maybelline’s fantasy of stardom was just that – a fantasy. She looked around at the bleak landscape. The ranch in Texas wasn’t a swanky place where movie stars hob knobbed. Gofers were the only things hob-knobbing there.

At the end of a dirt road was the entrance to the ranch with a wooden archway. Burned on a piece of wood nailed to the crossbeam was Tail Feather Ranch. The road led to a rundown ranch house with junk cars and rusty pickup trunks littering the yard. It was dusty and hot. At any given time, the wind sailed across the open plains, picking up dust, and rearranging the landscape. The summer heat could reach one hundred degrees by high noon. Today not a breeze stirred. It was early morning and already baking hot.

Corralled near the barn were ten ostriches pecking for food. Maybelline wasn’t one of the peckers. She had something more important on her mind than food.

Stardom wasn’t going to happen if I’m stuck here Maybelline told herself.

Near the barn, Maybelline caught sight of Waldo, one of the ranch owners. He slicked back his dark hair and thought he looked wildly handsome. Actually, he used too much hair tonic and his hair looked greasy. Maybelline couldn’t tell him that. He thought he was Romeo and that women swooned over him.

He was fixing the motor on his pickup. The open hood covered from her view his greasy pompadour. The hood suddenly dropped on his head. He yelled, followed by a string of garbled curse words.

By the corral, Rocky, his chubby sidekick, was scattering food for the birds. Maybelline liked Rocky better than she liked Waldo. Rocky had a kind nature.

Waldo was always scheming. You might say he was greedy. Rocky didn’t want to go along with Waldo’s schemes, but he didn’t have the nerve to stand up to him.

Waldo’s schemes never went according to plan. Take the time Waldo decided to go into the used car business. He convinced Rocky to use his savings to purchase junk cars. Waldo was going to fix the cars and then sell them. He sold them all right and made a profit. The problem was that Waldo was not a good mechanic. The cars broke down and the buyers were upset. Very upset. The buyers demanded their money back. Hence, the junkyard of broken cars and trucks. Waldo had spent his share of the profits so Rocky had to use the rest of his savings to square things.

Waldo’s scheme to sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door was a likewise disaster. Texas is a big state and the ranches spread out. Waldo and Rocky had to drive hours just to find a door. They spent so much money on gas that they were out of business by the end of the first week.

Waldo’s scheme to dig for oil sounded great. Waldo told Rocky he knew just where to dig. Rocky did most of the digging. After digging over one hundred holes around the ranch, Rocky finally got a clue that Waldo didn’t have a clue.

Rocky scattered some food into the pen. Maybelline scratched the ground but didn’t eat.

Waldo walked up behind Rocky, wiping his oil-smudged hands on a cloth. He eyed the ostrich with a smirk.

What’s the matter, Maybelline? said Waldo. Chicken feed ain’t good enough for you?

Maybelline jerked her head haughtily. No, she snorted. It’s not.

He heard squawks not words but point made.

You’d better start eating, sweetcakes, or you won’t have the strength to run, he said. If you don’t run, you’re gonna wind up inside a bun with cheese, ketchup, mustard and a pickle!

Maybelline eyed him coldly. Waldo was threatening her again.

Ostrich burgers, indeed!

Let’s see if you do better today, he said.

Waldo ordered Rocky to take Maybelline out of the pen. He opened the gate, put a halter on her, and then led her across the yard to the far side of the barn.

There was a dirt racetrack.

Now do your best, said Rocky.

This was Waldo’s latest scheme - racing ostriches.

In some countries like Africa, ostrich racing is a customary practice. Ostrich racing in the USA sounded new to most folks but dated to 1892 and a tourist attraction called the Ostrich Farm in Jacksonville, Florida. A tourist could ride an ostrich for fifty cents. For the races, a jockey would ride on the back of an ostrich. The maximum weigh an ostrich can carry is 150 pounds.

The starting gate was like the gate used for horseracing. However, an ostrich, unlike a horse, is not easy to control. The jockey had to hold onto the ostrich as he sits on top. The jockey needed a strong grip because an ostrich can reach speeds of 45 mph. Officials disqualify the bird from the race if the jockey falls off before the finish line.

Today ostrich races were becoming a fun sport for people to watch.

Waldo planned to race Maybelline at the Texas State Fair. The race was not a fun thing for him. Spectators bet on the races. Waldo could just see the prize money he would get when Maybelline won the race.

There was also racing with ostriches pulling the jockey in a cart. Waldo was training Maybelline to race with a jockey on her back.

Maybelline glared at Rocky. He was too fat to get on her back and he had better not try it. A swift kick with her powerful legs could injure a person.

Rocky climbed on Maybelline’s back. Why the big oaf! He weighed more than 150 pounds, a lot more. Fortunately, Maybelline was strong and could handle the weight. However, she was not about to allow this doofus to stay on for long.

Gitty up, he said.

He slapped her on the rump.

Maybelline started to trot.

Waldo stood by the track ready to time Maybelline with a stopwatch.

Maybelline ran around the track with Chuck Berry’s rock n’ roll classic Maybelline playing in her mind. She loved that song. It had a thriving beat and boisterous sound.

Dust flew into Rocky’s face. Good she thought. He was a terrible rider. He didn’t have any balance or poise. He had no skill as a rider. As Maybelline neared the finish line, Rocky fell off her back. He somersaulted several times before landing on his belly with a mouthful of dirt.

As Maybelline trotted across the finish line, Waldo clicked the stopwatch. Waldo didn’t much care that Rocky had fallen off and might have been hurt.

Not even close, he cried. That bird’s as slow as a penguin.

Rocky walked over to him, spitting dirt. He was unhurt, his jellyrolls nicely cushioning his fall.

Give her a break, hey Waldo? he said. I know Maybelline’s got it in her.

"What she’s got in her is 220 pounds of bird at twenty bucks per pound," Waldo growled.

Ah, no, said Rocky. You wouldn’t send Maybelline to the… He gestured a throat cut with his finger. I raised her from an egg.

So what? Birds were all eggs once, he retorted.

Waldo threw Maybelline a venomous look.

Maybelline blinked at him with her long eyelashes.

"Oh, I