In “The Legend of Johnny Lingo” there is a young island girl who is mistreated by her father and considered by the taunting villagers to be very ugly. She hides behind trees and feels sorry for herself. Johnny Lingo sees beyond that to the beautiful woman she really is.
The island tradition is to pay cows for your wife, and the women brag about how many cows their fathers received for them. A woman who was worth four cows was considered highly valued. Johnny approaches the father of his prospective bride and pays eight cows for her. Soon we see that with the proper care and respect, she is indeed a beautiful woman. It is a touching story.
How many cows is a woman worth if she finds that worth in herself rather than in how others see her? It’s nice if men think a woman is beautiful, but should she base her self-esteem on that? There are so many areas in which a woman can excel-health care, education, engineering, homemaking-there is no stopping her, so why should she depend on a man to pay eight cows for her?
A good relationship can be very rewarding, far beyond the eight cows, but if a woman looks to herself first, she can find fulfillment that is not dependent on the whims of others. To truly be an eight-cow woman, a woman must develop her own unique set of skills and talents. She should see to her own health care and medical needs. She can take pleasure in homemaking for herself and not only for others. She can lose weight if she needs to for her own health, medical issues, or happiness, not to please a man. She can work and play and take care of herself. She will be healthier and happier than the girl who hides in the shadows waiting for Johnny Lingo to save her. If he does come along, he will have to compete for her hand. Eight cows will never be enough for the true eight cow woman!
