Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah is returning to his native village in Kenya. He has been away for a long time as a result of winning a scholarship to study in the United States. His people, the Maasai, eagerly await stories of his adventures in America. With a heavy heart, Kimeli tells them he was in New York on September 11, 2001, and witnessed the devastation of the Twin Towers. He describes the terrible destruction, the thousands of lives lost. The Maasai are greatly moved by Kimeli’s tale. An elder asks, “What can we do for these poor people?”

Kimeli offers his only cow. The elders want to do more. What they decide to do is dedicate fourteen cows as a gesture of comfort and healing. The significance of this act is especially moving in light of the fact that the Maasai hold a special reverence for their cows.

     They sing to them.
     They give them names.
     They shelter the young ones in their homes.
     Without the herd, the tribe might starve.
     To the Maasai, the cow is life.

The tribe invites a diplomat from the United States Embassy in Nairobi to a special dedication ceremony. Hundreds of Maasai greet the American in full tribal splendor. The fourteen cows are presented on a sacred knoll, the silence broken only by the tranquil music of tinkling cowbells.

A note from Kimeli at the end of the book explains that the fourteen cows can never be slaughtered. In fact, the original fourteen have calved, and the herd has grown to over thirty-five. They continue to be a symbol of hope from the Maasai to their brothers and sisters in America.

Other books you might like:
• Animal Rescuers: A Chapter Book by Rosanna Hansen
• Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman
• The Masai of Africa by Lisa McQuail
• Papa, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse