Dolly Parton’s Family Cow Saved Her by Dragging Her Bloodied Through the Forest
Though she was born in the middle of the 20th century, some of Dolly Parton’s stories feel like centuries-old folktales. Her childhood stories are comical, sad, and tense, and all feel somewhat removed from the modern world. In one such tale, Parton recounted a time when a butterfly led her far off her family’s property. Her family’s cow eventually saved her from being lost in the woods.
When she was young, Dolly Parton lived in the Smoky Mountains
Parton grew up in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. She, her parents, and her 11 siblings shared a two-room home where they lived without running water or electricity. Winters were particularly harsh for the Parton family.
“We lived in these old, cold-ass houses, where we slept with our clothes on,” Parton wrote in the book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “You had to sleep dressed. Daddy wouldn’t let us get up until he’d built a fire and had it going. I remember us saying, ‘Daddy, is the fire hot?’ We had to wait. When we were little, we’d pee the bed and then go to school with those clothes on.”
Her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton, worked hard to support their family. Often, Avie Lee would also enlist the older children to take care of the younger ones. This way, she was able to give adequate care to the newborns.
Her family cow helped her when she was lost
Much like her adult self, the young Parton was an adventurous dreamer. As a child, she discovered a monarch butterfly flitting around the family property and followed it. She continued pursuing the butterfly long after it left the family home and led her into unknown territory.
After hours of wandering around lost, Parton found the family cow, Bessie. According to the New Yorker, Parton took hold of Bessie’s collar and let the cow lead her home, where she arrived “bloodied and bruised.” A panicked Avie Lee cried when Parton got home but also whipped her daughter for wandering off.
Dolly Parton’s classic symbol is a butterfly
According to Parton, she has always had a fascination with butterflies. She frequently followed them around as a child, much to the irritation of her mother. She has songs, a signature perfume, tattoos, and more that feature butterflies. Visitors to Dollywood will also take note of the park’s massive butterfly symbol.
“There were so many different kinds where we grew up,” she wrote. “So I would just find one and chase it, follow it as long as I could. I loved the butterflies because they just pulsated with light and color. I also loved the fireflies at night in the summer, the lightning bugs, as we called them.”
Parton feels that the creatures suit her personality well.
“Butterflies don’t sting, they don’t bite, and they are so beautiful,” Parton told W Magazine. “And I just kind of related to them with my own personality. I claimed them as my little symbol.”
