She pulled on the biggest shirt she could find, then started packing her bags. After hours of pondering, Mary decided the farm was exactly where she needed to be.
She didn't pack much in the way of clothes, just her new bras, shirts, and a couple panties and socks in the hopes that somebody might be able to tailor them to her unique specifications. Once all her essentials were in order, she called a real-estate agent. The phone number ran constantly on television, so she knew it by heart. She stressed that she wanted her house sold immediately, and didn't care if she made little profit. A few more phone calls to assure her abandoned assets and furniture were donated to proper charities, family members and friends later, Mary was finally ready to leave. She took a final look around the home which until today had seemed like the perfect life.
"I hope I know what I'm doing," she said to herself. She closed the door, left the key under the mat and drove into the country.
* * *
Mary pulled her car up to the farmhouse. The sun was bright and her furry body enjoyed its warmth.
As she was unloading a suitcase from the back of the car, a young girl stared at Mary from the porch. She was attempting to hide herself behind a post, but was failing miserably. Mary noticed she had quite a lot of hair. She must have taken some type of dog vial.
"Hello," she called sweetly to the girl.
She looked surprised that she had been spotted, but the girl whimpered a weak "Hello" of her own.
Mary lugged the suitcase to the porch and sat it down on a step.
"I'm Mary. Who are you?"
"I'm Annie." Now that Mary was closer, she could see a distinct black nose and short canine fangs on the girl's furry face. Her golden hair cascaded from her head and Mary could only assume she was half-sheepdog. A thin white line ran through her fur down the middle of her face and down the front of her neck. She was currently tucking her large brown ears against the side of her face.
"Don't be shy, Annie," Mary said. "I'm here to work from now on."
"Howdy," Mr. Fields called. He was walking back from the large barn with a bucket full of milk. "I see you've met the little one."
"She's very cute," the cow smiled, rustling the long hairs atop Annie's head. "Have you tried any of the vials, Mr. Fields?"
"Nope," he replied, putting down the bucket. "Don't have time for distractions. Makes little Annie happy, though. I'll get those."
"It's okay, I can take them," Mary said, bending over to pick up her suitcase. Mr. Fields went to her car to grab a couple more things.
Inside the house was very spacious. There was a large dining room for all the guests, and the kitchen seemed stocked with a lot of different foods ready to feed an army. Mr. Fields lead her upstairs to a long hallway of rooms.
"The ones to the right are for guests, the ones to the left are staff."
As they moved down the corridor, Mary passed an open door. She didn't look inside, but soon she heard a voice calling from it.
"Hey, new girl!" a high-pitched squeal of a voice sounded. Mary turned to see a short round woman waddle into the hallway. She looked about her age and was a clear half-human, half-pig. Her shirt was unable to contain her round belly, and her hands ended in pointed split hooves that moved a little like fingers. Her face was almost completely pig and she had no hair, but her eyes looked human.
"I'm Mary," the cow woman said, extending a hand.
The pig woman shook vigorously. "Trudy. It's so nice to see some more help around here. I was beginning to think we were the only ones who wanted a new life."
"You took the pig vial yesterday, I take it, Trudy?" Mary asked.
"You betcha," she said, rubbing her exposed tummy. It wobbled under her strokes. "Look at me, I'm cuddly and cute. Plus now that I'm a pig, people expect me to be fat and don't bother picking on me."
"Oh, you're just saying that," Mary said. "I'm sure you made a very cute human."
"Doesn't matter now," she said. "I'm never going back. How are you today, Mr. Fields?"
"Just fine, Trudy," he said. He had already put Mary's bags in her room and come back into the hall. "You'll be staying right next door here, Mary. Unless you want some place outside like Trudy."
"You sleep outside?" Mary asked, incredulous.
"In the pen with the regular pigs," Trudy said. "It's actually pretty comfortable. They prefer I come in and get cleaned up every day, though. This is my sister's room, Audrey. She took the pig vial too. I'm just straightening up a bit. We just got here yesterday of course."
"I've got some more business to attend to," Mr. Fields said. "So let's just decide yer tasks and get to it."
"What do you need the most?" Mary asked.
"Well, a good indoor maid is something we've been lacking lately," he said. "Most of us have to clean up whene'er we have free time, so the place could look better. The milk hasn't been comin' out real well since two of the cows died a few weeks ago. Been meanin' ta get new ones, but prices these days..."
Mary understood where Mr. Fields was going with this. He now had a cow on his staff who could contribute much more than milk. "Okay, you've got a deal," she said. "I can clean the place, give you milk and whatever else needs to be done on the side. Although..." she rubbed her udder, "I'm not really lactating right now."
"Y'all are a godsend," Mr. Fields patted Mary on the shoulder. "Go downstairs and see Sherwood. Don't worry about yer udder. He'll get ya what ya need." With that, he trudged off down the stairs.
"You'll love it here," Trudy said. "I've barely spent twenty hours here and it already feels like home."
Mary had to agree, the place was growing on her minute by minute. She hoofed it downstairs to find Sherwood, wondering what type of animal he was.