XI

illo1The Muley Cow Explains What a POKE is.(Page 49)Well, Aunt Polly and Mrs. Woodchuck didn't know what to say. And they felt so uncomfortable that they turned away and started off."Wait a moment!" the Muley Cow called to them. "How did you hear about this poke?""Old Mr. Crow told me," Mrs. Woodchuck replied."I thought so," said the Muley Cow. "And I'd like to have a talk with him."XITHE UNRULY MULEYAfter leaving the Muley Cow, who was wearing her new poke down by the lane, Aunt Polly Woodchuck and Billy Woodchuck's mother met old Mr. Crow again."Did you see her?" he asked them hoarsely."Yes!" they answered.Mr. Crow gave them a sly leer. "What do you think of it?" he inquired.They said that the poke was the strangest collar they had ever set eyes on."Ha! ha!" the old black rascal laughed. "I see that you don't know what it's for.... It's to keep the Muley Cow fromjumping the fence into the back pasture. Farmer Green put it around her neck this morning.""Did you ever?" said Billy Woodchuck's mother."Well, I never!" said Aunt Polly."We expected to see a poke bonnet," they both told Mr. Crow.That made him laugh again hoarsely."She wants to see you. The Muley Cow wants to talk with you," Aunt Polly Woodchuck informed him."Is she feeling pleasant?" he asked."No, I shouldn't say she was," Aunt Polly replied."Then I'll fly over and call on her a little later," he decided. "But first I must finish my breakfast." Thereupon he rose into the air and sailed away toward the cornfield, leaving two very puzzled Woodchuck ladies behind him.If there was anything that Mr. Crow enjoyed more than another, it was teasing some person that was angry. So he kept his word. As soon as he had finished his breakfast he came back to the pasture and sought out the Muley Cow."Good morning!" he said very politely."Ah, ha!" she cried. "You've been gossiping about me. You've been telling everybody about this poke.""It's most becoming," Mr. Crow said with a grin. "I supposed you'd like to have the neighbors know you were wearing something new.""Well, I don't!" she retorted. "It's bad enough to have a poke put on my neck, at my age, without having the news spread all through Pleasant Valley.""You can thank yourself for the fix you're in," Mr. Crow told her bluntly."At your age you should have known better than to jump fences.""How would you like it if you had to stay in this pasture day after day?" the Muley Cow asked him.Mr. Crow hemmed and hawed."How would you like it if you couldn't go into the cornfield?" she went on.Mr. Crow choked slightly but made no reply."How would you like it if I went up and down Pleasant Valley telling everybody that you were a—"But Mr. Crow didn't care to hear any more. He knew that the Muley Cow was going to say something about his stealing corn."It's getting late," he interrupted, though the sun hadn't been up an hour. "I must be poking along." And then he flapped himself away.That was just like Mr. Crow. When ever he found himself getting the worst of an argument he wouldn't talk any longer."Pokingalong, indeed!" the Muley Cow snorted as she watched him sailing toward the woods. "He can't fool me. He said that just to be disagreeable. He was poking fun at me!"XIITHE COWBIRDSSome of the Muley Cow's friends were very sorry for her, when Farmer Green put the poke around her neck to keep her from jumping the pasture fence. It was a heavy, clumsy thing to carry about all day. Sometimes, if she was not careful, the Muley Cow knocked her knees against it.Of course, there were others in the herd, like the little red cow and the big white one, that made disagreeable remarks. When they said unkind things to her the Muley Cow pretended that the poke didn't trouble her."Don't you know," she said to them one day, "that it's an honor to wear a poke? It shows that I'm the most valuable animal in the herd. Farmer Green doesn't intend to lose me, if he can help it.""Nonsense!" the little red cow cried. "Farmer Green makes you wear the poke because he doesn't want you to teach the young cattle bad habits. If he hadn't stopped you from jumping you'd soon have had all the youngsters at it."It was now the Muley Cow's turn to cry, "Nonsense!" But somehow she couldn't quite say the word. She had a queer, guilty feeling. And she walked away looking quite glum. She didn't want to talk with anybody.After her there followed a small flock of cowbirds."We aren't intruding, I hope," one plump cowbird remarked with a smirk ashe settled himself near the Muley Cow's forelegs, when she stopped to graze."You can always count on us as being good friends of yours," a dull gray dame told the Muley Cow."When you're feeling sad you can depend on us to cheer you up," a glossy, greenish black gentleman chimed in with a chuckle.The Muley Cow couldn't help thinking how pleasant it was to be among such kind companions."If you'll take care not to step on us we'll catch these flies that are biting you," another offered."Thank you!" said the Muley Cow. "You're very good to do that for an old lady like me."The cowbirds all laughed harshly at that. Though the Muley Cow didn't see any joke, she smiled in spite of herself.At least, the cowbirds had said nothing about her poke. And that was certainly worth a smile.In the past the Muley Cow had known plenty of cowbirds. But she had paid little heed to them, unless it was to tell them to fly away, for they were always hovering around a body's feet.It wasn't long before the flock had caught every one of the flies that had been following the Muley Cow. And when the last one had been gobbled up—after a slight dispute as to who should have it—the cowbirds left the Muley Cow abruptly. And they seemed to have lost all their politeness before they went."They're shy—that's all," the Muley Cow thought. "They hurried away before I could thank them."XIIITRUTH WILL OUTLater in the day the Muley Cow had a chat with a song sparrow—a musical person who had a nest cunningly hidden in the center of a bush near the pasture fence."What a pleasant family those cowbirds are!" the Muley Cow happened to remark. "They're so kind!"The song sparrow gave her a queer look."Kind!" he echoed.The Muley Cow saw at once that he did not agree with her."Yes!" she insisted. "They were very nice to me this morning. They caught all the flies that were bothering me."The song sparrow gave a slight sniff. "They were only having their breakfast. You may be sure that they didn't catch the flies to oblige you.""I wish," said the Muley Cow, "you wouldn't speak rudely of my friends, because they are very pleasant.""Why, they're outcasts!" the song sparrow cried. "No decent bird will have anything to do with them. They lay their eggs in our nests and we have to bring up their lubberly children for them. If I were you I'd drive them away next time and let the flies bite. What's your tail for, anyhow, except to switch the flies off?""Really, I don't know," said the Muley Cow.She felt somewhat foolish.And soon afterward the song sparrow told his wife that there was always somethingto learn, no matter if one were as old as the Muley Cow.The Muley Cow couldn't quite believe what Mr. Song Sparrow had told her about the cowbirds. But if it was true, she didn't want anything more to do with them. And if it wasn't true, she intended to be specially agreeable to them.In order to find out what was what, the Muley Cow made up her mind to ask the cowbirds a question the very next time she met them.It wasn't long before they gathered around her again."We've come to rid you of flies once more," they announced as they began to jostle one another while they snapped at the insects hovering about the Muley Cow. And one fat cowbird remarked with a smirk that it was too bad they hadn't brought the children along to help.The others grinned; for the cowbird youngsters were all being cared for by other birds who had big enough families of their own without looking after outsiders. But they didn't know that the Muley Cow had heard any stories about that."Do bring your children along with you the next time you come to the pasture," the Muley Cow urged them. "I'm very fond of little ones."The cowbirds tittered. They seemed to think there was a great joke somewhere."Our children are too small to leave home just yet," the fat person told the Muley Cow."The smaller they are the more I like them," the Muley Cow declared. "Won't you show me where your nests are? I'd love to see the little darlings cuddled in their beds."The cowbirds stopped catching flies andlooked uneasily at one another. The fat one, however, was somewhat bolder than the rest. He fluttered up and alighted right on the back of the Muley Cow."We don't take anybody to see our children until they leave the nests," he told the Muley Cow.She knew, then, that the song sparrow had told her the truth."And I don't let cowbirds sit on my back—not after they're grown up!" she snapped. As she spoke, the Muley Cow fetched the pert gentleman a smart smack with her tail.The blow caught him unawares and knocked him squawking upon the ground. At once his companions began to scold the Muley Cow. And so did he—as soon as he got his breath back. "You're a rough old thing!" he squalled."You're rascals—all of you!" cried theMuley Cow. "You can't fool me any longer. I know all about you. I wonder who named youcowbirds, for it's a deadly insult to me and all my family."XIVTHE MUSKRATS' WARNINGIf it hadn't been for Johnnie Green there's no knowing how long the Muley Cow would have had to wear the wooden poke about her neck. Somehow Johnnie Green guessed that she didn't like it. So he teased his father to take the poke off her. And at last Farmer Green consented."We'll try her without it," he said. "We'll see how she behaves. We'll see if she has learned a lesson."It was like a holiday for the Muley Cow when she went into the pasture without the heavy poke. For all her advancedage, she kicked up her heels and galloped clumsily over the hummocky hillside, quite like a frisky calf.For just a moment or two she was tempted to jump the fence, she felt so gay. But luckily she remembered, before it was too late, that if she left the pasture she would probably have to wear the poke all the rest of that summer. And she decided it was worth her while to behave herself.So she stopped running—for that was just a temptation to jump; and she began to pull at choice clumps of clover with her long tongue. Then, feeling thirsty, she went to the brook, where it flowed into the mill pond, to get a drink.She splashed down into the water, not caring at all because she wet her feet. In fact, she liked the feeling of the cool water. She had stuck her nose into thebrook and had drunk several great swallows when a squeaky sort of voice cried, "Stop that!"The Muley Cow lifted her head and stared all around, while drops of water trickled off her muzzle and fell back into the stream.At first she couldn't see anybody. And then the voice called again, "Stop that! You'll drain our pond dry if you drink so much of our water."Then the Muley Cow saw who was speaking. It was Paddy Muskrat. With his wife he had crept out on some stones a little way off. And there they stood, chattering and waving their paws at the Muley Cow."Go away!" Mrs. Muskrat shrieked. "We don't want you here."Just then the Muley Cow noticed a big frog who sat on the bank of the brook andgrinned at her. "What would you do if you were I?" she asked him.Ferdinand Frog (for it was he) said nothing for a few seconds, but wrinkled his low brow; for he was thinking deeply."I believe I'd carry a parasol if I were you," he said at last. "It's a hot day and I believe you'd enjoy the shade."The Muley Cow was puzzled. She couldn't see that Mr. Frog's answer had anything to do with the case. But Paddy Muskrat exclaimed at once that Mr. Frog had hit on the very thing."Go get your parasol at once!" Paddy cried. "You're liable to have a sunstroke.""But I haven't a parasol," she objected."Then borrow one from Farmer Green's wife," said Mrs. Paddy. "To be sure, I don't believe in borrowing—as arule. But it's different when somebody's in danger of a sunstroke."Now, the Muley Cow began to feel very queer. She had never had a sunstroke; she had never even heard of one. But they sounded quite dreadful. So she climbed quickly up the bank and went and lay down in the shade of a great oak.That was the best she could do. She knew that Farmer Green's wife would never lend her a parasol.Anyhow, the Muskrat family was satisfied. They felt that they were no longer in danger of having their pond drained dry.XVCARRYING A MESSAGEAfter Paddy Muskrat and his wife talked to her about sunstrokes, the Muley Cow tried to keep in the shade during the rest of the day.Toward evening, who should come trotting out of the woods but Tommy Fox. When he noticed the Muley Cow (as he soon did, for the wind told him where she was) he turned aside to speak to her. He inquired carefully about her health, said that he hoped she was enjoying the fine weather, and remarked finally that he was glad he met her because it would save him a trip to the farmyard. "That is,"Tommy added, "if you don't mind carrying a message for me."The Muley Cow had always heard that the Fox family was terribly sly and tricky. Still, Tommy was most polite. Really, she didn't like to say no.He saw that she couldn't quite say yes. "It doesn't matter," he told her carelessly. "There's the little red cow over there. I know she'll be glad to oblige me."That was just the thing to make the Muley Cow want to do his errand."I'm sure I should be delighted to accommodate you," she told Tommy Fox. "Give me your message. And when I go home this evening I'll deliver it.""It's for the young gobbler, Turkey Proudfoot," Tommy Fox explained. "Please tell him that a gentleman wishes to meet him by the stone wall to-night, as soon as it grows dark.""Very well!" said the Muley Cow. "I'll tell Turkey Proudfoot that I saw you and I'll give him your message.""Oh! Please don't mention my name!" Tommy Fox begged her. "Just say, 'a gentleman.' You see, it's to be a surprise.... You know everybody likes surprises," he added, as he grinned at the Muley Cow in the most innocent way.She remembered that she had liked surprises herself when she was younger. So she agreed to give Turkey Proudfoot the message exactly as Tommy Fox had told it to her.And she did. When milking time came, and Johnnie Green and old dog Spot drove the cows home, down the long lane that led to the barn, and the Muley Cow saw Turkey Proudfoot strutting about the farmyard, she told him something. She told him that a slim, red gentleman with abushy tail and a sharp nose wanted to see him near the stone wall at nightfall. "He has a surprise for you," she added.The moment he heard the message Turkey Proudfoot's tail drooped and he forgot to strut. He even shook slightly, as if something had frightened him. And then, to the Muley Cow's astonishment, he began to gobble at her."You ought to be ashamed of yourself—trying to get me into trouble with Tommy Fox!" he scolded.The Muley Cow was still more amazed. She hadn't mentioned Tommy Fox's name; and she couldn't understand how Turkey Proudfoot had guessed who the gentleman was. Besides, she wondered why Turkey Proudfoot was angry. Tommy Fox was such an agreeable person that she felt sure he must have planned a very pleasant surprise.It appeared that Turkey Proudfoot had quite a different notion. It was so different that he didn't even dare to roost in the tree in front of the barn that night, but crowded right into the henhouse. The hens made a great fuss and ordered him out. But he simply wouldn't take the hint.XVICLOVER TOPSThe Muley Cow noticed that Billy Woodchuck was making many trips back and forth across the pasture. Watching him carefully, she saw that he always crept under the fence and stole into the field where the clover grew. And every time he came back again he looked plumper than before."That clover's not intended for you," the Muley Cow told him at last. She thought that ought to be enough to stop him. But it made not the slightest difference. Billy Woodchuck continued to visit the clover-patch just as often as ever.And it seemed to the Muley Cow that he stayed longer each time he went there."Something will have to be done to keep that Woodchuck boy out of our clover," she announced to the rest of the herd. "If we don't stop him there'll be no nice clover hay for us next winter.""Somebody ought to put a poke on him," said the little red cow. And everybody laughed—everybody except the Muley Cow. She saw nothing funny in the suggestion. She thought it silly; and she said as much, too: "Who ever heard of a Woodchuck wearing a poke about his neck?""Have you told Billy Woodchuck to keep out of the clover?" one of the Muley Cow's friends inquired."I've dropped a hint; but it seems he can't take a hint," the Muley Cow replied."Then someone will have to speak plainly to him," the friend said. And the whole herd told the Muley Cow that she was the one to do it, because she was the oldest cow on the farm.So the next time that Billy Woodchuck hurried by on his way to the clover-patch, the Muley Cow stood right in his path and stopped him."Go back!" she said severely. "You mustn't eat any more clover. You've had too much of it already."Billy Woodchuck sat up on his hind feet and stared very hard at the Muley Cow.But he said never a word."What's the matter with you?" she asked him. "Can't you speak when you're spoken to? Have you nothing to say?"It appeared that he had. "I was thinking,"he stammered, "what a pity it is that you lost your horns."The Muley Cow gave a sort of snort."Don't be a ninny!" she cried. "I never lost my horns. I never had any to lose. That's why they call me the Muley Cow."Billy Woodchuck sat as still as a mouse and never took his eyes off her. It gave the Muley Cow a queer turn to be looked at so steadily. It made her fidget and squirm."Well! well!" she exclaimed. "How strangely you act! What's the trouble with you? Are you ill?""No!" said Billy Woodchuck. "I was only thinking what a long face you have.""Nothing of the sort!" the Muley Cow spluttered. "It's my opinion that you can't see well. There must be something wrong with your eyes. And I haven't adoubt that the trouble is just this: You've eaten too much clover."XVIINO HELP FROM SPOTBilly Woodchuck was a great deal wiser than the Muley Cow had ever suspected. She had thought she could frighten him. By telling him that he couldn't see well because he had eaten too much clover, she actually expected to keep him out of the clover-patch. So she had a great surprise when he said to her:"You must be mistaken. I know there's nothing the matter with my eyes, becauseI can see right through you!"The Muley Cow knew then that she had only been wasting words on Billy Woodchuck. She realized that she hadn't frightened him in the least. And she felt sure that the moment her back was turned he would scurry into the clover-patch and nip off as many of the juicy red tops as he could hold.illo2The Muley Cow Tries to Stop Billy Woodchuck.(Page 80)So she turned away. And sure enough! The moment she moved aside, out of his path, Billy Woodchuck made a bee line for the fence. He was under it in a twinkling.And the Muley Cow knew what was happening to the clover-tops."There's only one thing to do," she muttered to herself. "I'll speak to old dog Spot about this Woodchuck youngster."So she did, that very evening. When Spot came to drive the cows home she told him that there was a young son of Mrs. Woodchuck who spent most of his time in the clover-patch. "I know you'll beinterested to hear the news," she said.Old Spot shook his head."It's no use," he growled. "I've known for weeks what was going on in that field of clover. It's full of Woodchucks. But I never can catch them. They always have a sentinel—a watcher—who whistles if I try to surprise them.""But I don't want you tocatchthem," the Muley Cow explained. "I only want you toscarethem. And most of all, I want you to frighten that young Billy Woodchuck. He's the greediest of the lot.""I could chase them home a dozen times a day and they'd always come back again," said old Spot with a sigh.The Muley Cow saw that she could expect little help from him. And it made her feel a bit peevish."We need a good, young dog on thisfarm," she declared. "One that's not old and fat and lazy!"Now, Spot knew better than to argue with the Muley Cow. But he couldn't help saying to her, "Let's see! You and I are just the same age, aren't we?"And for once the Muley Cow wished she had horns to prick somebody with.XVIIIONE APPLE TOO MANYIt was a long time since the Muley Cow had jumped the pasture fence. By making her wear a poke for a while Farmer Green had taught her to behave herself. But there came a day, finally, when she made up her mind that just one more jump wouldn't do any great harm.There had been a strong wind during the night, which had whipped a good many red apples off the trees. It was when the Muley Cow smelled them that she decided that she would jump the fence. She wanted to get into the orchard before anybody could pick up the apples and takethem to the cider mill. So over the fence went the Muley Cow.She had a pleasant time eating apples—until something happened to put an end to her feast. Something kept the Muley Cow from swallowing another mouthful.It was lucky that Johnnie Green felt hungry. He went to the orchard himself to fill his pockets with apples, when he saw the Muley Cow—his own Muley Cow—acting in the strangest manner. She was staggering about among the trees and making the queerest sounds.Johnnie Green ran quickly to the barn and called to his father. "There's something wrong with the Muley Cow!""Where is she?" his father asked him."In the orchard!" Johnnie said.Farmer Green caught up a whip—a whip with a long lash and a limber stock.With Johnnie following him he ran out of the barn, across the yard, and into the orchard. "Don't whip her for jumping the fence!" Johnnie pleaded.His father never said a word."I wish I hadn't told him," Johnnie Green panted. He was doing his best to keep up with his father. He thought he would rather take a whipping himself than have the Muley Cow get one. But he didn't know how he could ever make his father feel the same way. He had noticed that his father reached for the whip as if he fully intended to use it.When Farmer Green reached the Muley Cow he did a queer thing. At least it seemed queer to Johnnie. Instead of whipping the Muley Cow, his father ran the whip-stock down her throat!"What's the matter?" Johnnie asked. "Why do you do that?""She's choked over an apple," his father explained, "and I'm trying to shove it along."Well, it wasn't a great while before the Muley Cow seemed to be quite herself again."Rough treatment!" Farmer Green remarked. "But it certainly fixed her.""Why did she choke?" Johnnie wanted to know."She tried to swallow a whole apple," said his father. "Whenever you feed such things as apples or potatoes to a cow you must always chop them into pieces.... Now drive the old cow to the barn," he told Johnnie. "She'll have to wear a poke again."When the Muley Cow heard that she wondered if she hadn't been very foolish.XIXA QUESTION OF LUCK"How lucky some people are!" said old Mr. Crow. He was talking to the Muley Cow, in the pasture. And though she didn't specially care for his company, she was curious enough to ask him what he meant."I was just thinking," Mr. Crow explained, "I was just thinking what a hard life I lead, and how I have to hunt around to find whatever I can to eat. In winter it's usually poor pickings for me. But some people have their meals set right under their noses. They don't even need to stir.""I suppose," the Muley Cow ventured, "you're thinking about us cows.""I am," he admitted. "You have such an easy time that often I actually wish I had been born a cow myself."The Muley Cow shook her head."That would have been impossible," she murmured.Old Mr. Crow flared up at once."I'd like to know why!" he shrieked. He was always ill-mannered when he was angry.The Muley Cow stared at him coolly. She was a calm person, generally."You would have had to be a calf, in the beginning," she explained."Of course! Of course!" Mr. Crow spluttered. "Of course I knew that. You needn't bother to tell me things that everybody knows.""Being a cow is not all fun, I assureyou," the Muley Cow continued. "The trouble is, you can't go and come as you please. You have to do about as you're told. And I'm sure you wouldn't like that, Mr. Crow.""Perhaps not!" he admitted somewhat grudgingly. "But they're not always looking for you with a gun," he croaked. "And you always have plenty of company.""Too much, sometimes," said the Muley Cow. "You can get off by yourself whenever you want to. But how's a cow to get away from the herd?""She can jump the fence," said old Mr. Crow with a wicked gleam in his eye."Yes! yes!" the Muley Cow agreed hastily. "But we won't discuss that. And remember—a cow couldn't go miles and miles around Blue Mountain in just a few minutes, as you can."The old gentleman couldn't see that there was anything specially pleasant in making long flights. "When I travel, it's generally because I'm hungry," he said. "It's because I'd starve if I stood still. And in winter I have to step lively, I can tell you. Food's scarce then, for us crows. We have to snatch a morsel wherever we can find it, while you fat cows are having the best of things in a warm barn.... Yes!" he declared somewhat sourly. "You're enjoying the finest of food—out of season, too.""I don't know what you're talking about," said the Muley Cow."Corn!" Mr. Crow snapped. "Doesn't Farmer Green fill the silo with corn in the summer? And doesn't he feed it to you in the winter? Deny it if you can!"XXGOOD CORN WASTEDMr. Crow had been talking about the corn in the silo, which Farmer Green fed to the herd during the winter. And the Muley Cow could see that he was growing angrier every moment."Well! well!" she exclaimed. "You don't object—do you?—if Farmer Green feeds us corn that he raised himself.""Certainly I do!" Mr. Crow fumed. "It's not fair. He doesn't store away any nice sweet corn in a silo for me.""Ah! You wouldn't like it if he did," the Muley Cow told him."Why not?" Mr. Crow asked. "Whyshouldn't I enjoy nice sweet corn in the dead of winter?""Because—" said the Muley Cow—"because the corn from the silo isn't sweet. It's sour, Mr. Crow. And you wouldn't care for it at all."The old gentleman looked surprised."How sour is it?" he inquired."I'd hate to say," the Muley Cow replied."I insist on your telling me," he croaked. "I insist; for I've a right to know.""Well," said the Muley Cow, "the corn from the silo is not quite as sour as your temper, Mr. Crow. And that's all I can say."That seemed to be enough for him. He asked no more questions, but flew off in a terrible rage. And he told all his friends that it was a shame, the way FarmerGreen ruined the corn by putting it in the silo. "It turns sour," he explained. "And Farmer Green has to feed it to the cows, because nobody else will eat it."All the crows in Pleasant Valley agreed that it was a pity to spoil good corn like that. They even had a meeting—a crow caucus—in the pine woods, they were so upset."What can we do about it?" they asked one another.Nobody could supply an answer."If we could eat all the corn before it's cut, we could save it—" old Mr. Crow began.But the rest shouted him down. They knewthatcouldn't be done."There's your friend, the Muley Cow," said one of them to old Mr. Crow. "Why don't you tell her that Farmer Green's not treating the herd well? He givesthem spoiled corn. If they'd refuse to eat it, it would serve him right.""A good idea!" said everybody else—except old Mr. Crow. As for him, he made a wry face."I don't enjoy talking with the Muley Cow," he objected. "Besides, a talk with her would be of no use. She's one of the most stupid people I ever saw."After a good deal of teasing by his cronies Mr. Crow at last consented to speak to the Muley Cow once more. And flying to the pasture, he flapped down near her."If I had been born a calf—" Mr. Crow began. But he got no further than that before the Muley Cow broke in upon his words."If you hadn't been born a rascal everybody would have a better opinion of you," she told him.He began squawking at her at the top of his lungs.But the Muley Cow didn't care. She continued to twist her tongue around mouthfuls of grass quite as if Mr. Crow had never been born at all.And that was the end of that.illo3The Muley Cow Upsets Jack O'Lantern.(Page 100)XXIA BRAVE DEEDNobody had ever supposed that the Muley Cow had much courage. In many ways she seemed quite timid. Perhaps if she had had horns she would have been different. Anyhow, whenever anything startled her the only thing she ever did was to run away, if she could. If old dog Spot barked at her heels the Muley Cow always hurried to get out of reach of his snapping jaws. If Farmer Green shouted at her she was more than likely to mind him. And usually she even did as Johnnie Green told her to do. In all her life she was never known to fight. Yet therecame a time when many of her friends claimed that she was very brave indeed.On a crisp fall evening a terrible, grinning fellow known as Jack O'Lantern appeared about the farmhouse. Johnnie Green, at least, did not fear him, in spite of his flaming features. For Johnnie and Jack spent the whole evening together. Whenever the clatter of a wagon sounded from the road, the two rushed out to the gate, to be there when the wagon passed.It was said that strangers seemed to be frightened. Anyhow, shouts were heard. Old dog Spot did a great deal of barking. And Miss Kitty Cat hid under the woodpile. Queer tales travelled like wildfire that night. All the after-dark prowlers knew about Jack O'Lantern. And some of them saw—and feared—him.After Johnnie Green went to bed Jack sat a long time on a fence post and grinnedat the black night. And nobody—except Benjamin Bat—dared go near him.After a while Jack O'Lantern vanished. His gleaming eyes no longer flashed, his horrid mouth no longer grinned. And nobody cared to go near the place where he had sat, to see what had become of him.At dawn Miss Kitty Cat crawled out of the woodpile to do a little early hunting. And she claimed that at that hour Jack O'Lantern still sat on the fence post. She saw the back of his head—so she said. And that was enough for her. She did not look at him a second time. And yet—when broad daylight came Jack O'Lantern had vanished completely.It was a great mystery. And when at last the Muley Cow spoke up and said that she had done for Jack O'Lantern, nobody could believe her.When Miss Kitty Cat heard the newsshe went at once to the pasture. And going straight to the Muley Cow she made bold to ask her a question: "Is it true that you made away with that dreadful Jack O'Lantern?""Yes!" the Muley Cow replied. "I was the first one out of the barn this morning. And I knocked Jack O'Lantern off the fence post.""What happened then?" Miss Kitty Cat wanted to know, as she stared round-eyed at the Muley Cow."He broke into a dozen pieces."Miss Kitty Cat was suspicious. "If that's so, where are the pieces?""I ate them," the Muley Cow explained.And everybody said she was very, very brave. And everybody shuddered at the Muley Cow's next remark. "The pieces tasted very good," she said. "It was as fine pumpkin as I ever ate."XXIITRYING TO BE FIERCEThe Muley Cow rather enjoyed the talk she caused because she had eaten Jack O'Lantern. And feeling that any one so brave ought not to appear too meek and mild, she sometimes tried to look as fierce as she could.Somehow she could never manage a frown when old dog Spot was about. But if she came across Master Meadow Mouse all alone in the pasture she never failed to bellow at him and ask him in a gruff tone what he was doing there.When she first spoke to him like that Master Meadow Mouse was startled."I'm only taking a stroll," he piped.The Muley Cow glared at him for a few moments. She wanted to act ferocious; but unfortunately she could think of nothing more to say. And not wishing to seem at a loss for words, she began to cough.Before she had stopped coughing Master Meadow Mouse ran away. And that was exactly what the Muley Cow had hoped he would do. It would have been very awkward for her if he had waited until she had stopped coughing. For try as she would, she could think of nothing ferocious to say.The next time the Muley Cow met Master Meadow Mouse she bellowed at him again and stamped her feet at him, so that the ground trembled beneath him. He was too frightened to run. So he stood still and shivered. And that made the Muley Cow quite uncomfortable. MasterMeadow Mouse stared at her while he panted with fright. And again the Muley Cow could think of nothing but pleasant remarks to make.So she began coughing once more. But to her great dismay Master Meadow Mouse didn't run away. And since she couldn't cough forever, but had to stop sometime, she paused to get her breath. And then she asked him a question."Can't you see I'm very fierce?" she inquired. "Why don't you run away?""I was waiting to see what happened," said Master Meadow Mouse pleasantly. "I thought maybe you'd choke."Well, the Muley Cow was so surprised she didn't know what to say to that. And to hide her confusion she started coughing again.Again she stopped, for of course she soon had to. Master Meadow Mouse hadwaited hopefully, watching her closely to see if she were not going to choke that time, anyhow. And when she didn't he was quite disappointed."Try it again—will you?" he besought the Muley Cow."What!" she bawled. "Do youwantme to choke?""Yes!" he told her. "I thought that if you did, Farmer Green would come and run a whip-stock down your throat. And that would be great fun to watch, you know."The Muley Cow gasped. She saw that Master Meadow Mouse knew all about her choking over an apple, in the orchard. And that was something she never liked to talk about. To tell the truth, she was somewhat ashamed of the whole affair. "Go away!" she bade Master Meadow Mouse. "Go away! I don't wantanything to do with you." But her voice wasn't the least bit fierce. Nor was he the least bit frightened.In the end it was the Muley Cow herself that ran off. And Master Meadow Mouse even followed her all the way to the bars.The Muley Cow was so ashamed to have been chased by a Meadow Mouse (and a young one, at that!) that she scarcely dared look anybody in the face until milking-time.XXIIITHE VOW OF A COWAll the cows in the barn were much upset. They had heard some news that didn't please them. Farmer Green was going to buy a milking machine!"He'll never use it on me," the Muley Cow declared. "None of my family has ever been milked by a machine; and I don't intend to be the first."Her companions all felt just as she did. If Farmer Green could have listened to their mutterings and rumblings and murmurings he might not have dared bring home any milking machine. But he never dreamed that the whole herd wasagainstone. As for his son Johnnie—and even the hired man—they had said all along that they thought a milking machine would be a fine thing to have.The hired man had milked cows all his life—millions of them, so he said! And he told Johnnie that he no longer found any fun in turning out of a warm bed on a cold winter's morning long before daylight, to milk cows.Now, Johnnie Green had only learned to milk during the summer before. But strange to say, he had already begun to feel somewhat as the hired man did. Milking was not half the sport that it was in the beginning.The great day came at last when the milking machine arrived. There was an unusual bustle in the cow barn while it was being set up and tested. Since it was winter, the cows had little else to do butwatch what was going on—and grumble. They all felt just as they had when they first heard about the new machine—that is, all but the little red cow, who always stood next to the Muley Cow when they were in the barn.To everybody's surprise the little red cow announced that she was glad the milking machine had come. "You're behind the times," she said to the Muley Cow. "You prefer to be milked by hand, the old-fashioned way. But I like new-fangled things. And folks say that milking machines are very stylish this winter."For a few moments the Muley Cow gazed, open-mouthed, at the little red cow. "You don't mean to say," she gasped at last, as soon as she could speak, "you don't mean to say you're going to let them hitch that machine to you, do you?""Certainly I am!" cried the little redcow. "If I want to be fashionable I'm sure it's nobody else's affair."The Muley Cow turned to the big white cow, who stood listening eagerly to every word."We'd better ask Farmer Green to move us," the Muley Cow said to her. "This neighborhood is getting too fashionable for us.""Not for me!" the big white cow replied. "I quite agree with the lady on the other side of you. And we really ought to speak to Farmer Green about changing our places—she and I. For it's not half stylish enough for us here."When she saw how both the little red cow and the big white one felt about the milking machine, more than ever the Muley Cow vowed that she would never be milked by it. No, never!XXIVHUMBUGSThe new milking machine was all ready to use."Which one are you going to try it on first?" the hired man asked Farmer Green."Let's hitch it to the little red cow," said Johnnie Green's father.The little red cow gave the Muley Cow a sly nudge. "Did you hear that?" she asked. "Farmer Green knows who's fashionable. He chooses me to be first! And it's a great honor.""Nonsense!" said the Muley Cow. "He picked you because you're the smallestcow on the farm. He thinks you wouldn't dare object to the milking machine.... Just you wait till they try it on me! I'll kick! I'll bellow! I'll switch my tail at them!"The little red cow made no reply. Already Farmer Green and the hired man had stepped up beside her. And they were just about to fasten the milking machine to her when the big white cow let out a frightened bawl."What's the matter?" the little red cow asked her."I was just thinking," she stammered, "what a terrible thing it would be if they couldn't stop the machine!"That was an awful thought. Such an idea had never entered the red cow's head. And the moment she heard it she no longer wanted to be fashionable. She was so alarmed that she lashed out with both hindfeet in a most unladylike manner. And she plunged and roared and made such a fuss that Farmer Green and the hired man left her in disgust."She hasn't the brains of a hen," Farmer Green declared."Shall we try the big white cow?" the hired man asked him."No! She's a numskull too," said Farmer Green. He was feeling somewhat cross, for the little red cow had given him a smart kick. "Let's take the old Muley. She knows something, even if she is a jumper."Well, what could the Muley Cow do? She had declared to all her friends that she wouldnotbe milked by any new-fangled milking machine. But when Farmer Green spoke so pleasantly about her she hadn't the heart to disappoint him. So she stood quite still for a few minutes.And soon she had the honor of being the first cow in the herd to be milked the fashionable new way.The little red cow was frightfully jealous of her. And she called the Muley Cow "an old humbug.""You said you wouldn't let them do it," the little red cow spluttered. "And here you are, with the honor of being first!""And you—" the Muley Cow retorted—"you said you were glad the milking machine had come. But you certainly didn't act pleased when they offered to use it on you.... Speaking of humbugs, I should say you were one yourself."For once the little red cow had nothing to say. The herd agreed that it was thefirstdispute in which she hadn't had the final word. And to their surprise, ever afterward the little red cow was meek and mild. She even let Farmer Green milkher with the milking machine. And there was only one thing that ever vexed her. She never could bear to hear the wordhumbug.Somehow the whole herd became gentler. At last Farmer Green announced proudly, right in their hearing, that they were giving more milk."It's the milking machine," he told the hired man. "The cows like it."But the Muley Cow knew better than that. She was too polite to say as much to Farmer Green. She wouldn't dream of disputing what he said, though she knew well enough that he had not guessed the secret. Being only a man, he had not noticed how fashionable the cows had become. And since no cow can be a fine, fashionable dame if she is rude, noisy and quarrelsome, they simply had to be on their best behavior all the time.And they were especially particular about two matters. They ate—neatly—every bit of fodder that was set before them, and gave all the milk they could in return for it.THE END

illo1The Muley Cow Explains What a POKE is.(Page 49)

The Muley Cow Explains What a POKE is.(Page 49)

Well, Aunt Polly and Mrs. Woodchuck didn't know what to say. And they felt so uncomfortable that they turned away and started off.

"Wait a moment!" the Muley Cow called to them. "How did you hear about this poke?"

"Old Mr. Crow told me," Mrs. Woodchuck replied.

"I thought so," said the Muley Cow. "And I'd like to have a talk with him."

After leaving the Muley Cow, who was wearing her new poke down by the lane, Aunt Polly Woodchuck and Billy Woodchuck's mother met old Mr. Crow again.

"Did you see her?" he asked them hoarsely.

"Yes!" they answered.

Mr. Crow gave them a sly leer. "What do you think of it?" he inquired.

They said that the poke was the strangest collar they had ever set eyes on.

"Ha! ha!" the old black rascal laughed. "I see that you don't know what it's for.... It's to keep the Muley Cow fromjumping the fence into the back pasture. Farmer Green put it around her neck this morning."

"Did you ever?" said Billy Woodchuck's mother.

"Well, I never!" said Aunt Polly.

"We expected to see a poke bonnet," they both told Mr. Crow.

That made him laugh again hoarsely.

"She wants to see you. The Muley Cow wants to talk with you," Aunt Polly Woodchuck informed him.

"Is she feeling pleasant?" he asked.

"No, I shouldn't say she was," Aunt Polly replied.

"Then I'll fly over and call on her a little later," he decided. "But first I must finish my breakfast." Thereupon he rose into the air and sailed away toward the cornfield, leaving two very puzzled Woodchuck ladies behind him.

If there was anything that Mr. Crow enjoyed more than another, it was teasing some person that was angry. So he kept his word. As soon as he had finished his breakfast he came back to the pasture and sought out the Muley Cow.

"Good morning!" he said very politely.

"Ah, ha!" she cried. "You've been gossiping about me. You've been telling everybody about this poke."

"It's most becoming," Mr. Crow said with a grin. "I supposed you'd like to have the neighbors know you were wearing something new."

"Well, I don't!" she retorted. "It's bad enough to have a poke put on my neck, at my age, without having the news spread all through Pleasant Valley."

"You can thank yourself for the fix you're in," Mr. Crow told her bluntly."At your age you should have known better than to jump fences."

"How would you like it if you had to stay in this pasture day after day?" the Muley Cow asked him.

Mr. Crow hemmed and hawed.

"How would you like it if you couldn't go into the cornfield?" she went on.

Mr. Crow choked slightly but made no reply.

"How would you like it if I went up and down Pleasant Valley telling everybody that you were a—"

But Mr. Crow didn't care to hear any more. He knew that the Muley Cow was going to say something about his stealing corn.

"It's getting late," he interrupted, though the sun hadn't been up an hour. "I must be poking along." And then he flapped himself away.

That was just like Mr. Crow. When ever he found himself getting the worst of an argument he wouldn't talk any longer.

"Pokingalong, indeed!" the Muley Cow snorted as she watched him sailing toward the woods. "He can't fool me. He said that just to be disagreeable. He was poking fun at me!"

Some of the Muley Cow's friends were very sorry for her, when Farmer Green put the poke around her neck to keep her from jumping the pasture fence. It was a heavy, clumsy thing to carry about all day. Sometimes, if she was not careful, the Muley Cow knocked her knees against it.

Of course, there were others in the herd, like the little red cow and the big white one, that made disagreeable remarks. When they said unkind things to her the Muley Cow pretended that the poke didn't trouble her.

"Don't you know," she said to them one day, "that it's an honor to wear a poke? It shows that I'm the most valuable animal in the herd. Farmer Green doesn't intend to lose me, if he can help it."

"Nonsense!" the little red cow cried. "Farmer Green makes you wear the poke because he doesn't want you to teach the young cattle bad habits. If he hadn't stopped you from jumping you'd soon have had all the youngsters at it."

It was now the Muley Cow's turn to cry, "Nonsense!" But somehow she couldn't quite say the word. She had a queer, guilty feeling. And she walked away looking quite glum. She didn't want to talk with anybody.

After her there followed a small flock of cowbirds.

"We aren't intruding, I hope," one plump cowbird remarked with a smirk ashe settled himself near the Muley Cow's forelegs, when she stopped to graze.

"You can always count on us as being good friends of yours," a dull gray dame told the Muley Cow.

"When you're feeling sad you can depend on us to cheer you up," a glossy, greenish black gentleman chimed in with a chuckle.

The Muley Cow couldn't help thinking how pleasant it was to be among such kind companions.

"If you'll take care not to step on us we'll catch these flies that are biting you," another offered.

"Thank you!" said the Muley Cow. "You're very good to do that for an old lady like me."

The cowbirds all laughed harshly at that. Though the Muley Cow didn't see any joke, she smiled in spite of herself.At least, the cowbirds had said nothing about her poke. And that was certainly worth a smile.

In the past the Muley Cow had known plenty of cowbirds. But she had paid little heed to them, unless it was to tell them to fly away, for they were always hovering around a body's feet.

It wasn't long before the flock had caught every one of the flies that had been following the Muley Cow. And when the last one had been gobbled up—after a slight dispute as to who should have it—the cowbirds left the Muley Cow abruptly. And they seemed to have lost all their politeness before they went.

"They're shy—that's all," the Muley Cow thought. "They hurried away before I could thank them."

Later in the day the Muley Cow had a chat with a song sparrow—a musical person who had a nest cunningly hidden in the center of a bush near the pasture fence.

"What a pleasant family those cowbirds are!" the Muley Cow happened to remark. "They're so kind!"

The song sparrow gave her a queer look.

"Kind!" he echoed.

The Muley Cow saw at once that he did not agree with her.

"Yes!" she insisted. "They were very nice to me this morning. They caught all the flies that were bothering me."

The song sparrow gave a slight sniff. "They were only having their breakfast. You may be sure that they didn't catch the flies to oblige you."

"I wish," said the Muley Cow, "you wouldn't speak rudely of my friends, because they are very pleasant."

"Why, they're outcasts!" the song sparrow cried. "No decent bird will have anything to do with them. They lay their eggs in our nests and we have to bring up their lubberly children for them. If I were you I'd drive them away next time and let the flies bite. What's your tail for, anyhow, except to switch the flies off?"

"Really, I don't know," said the Muley Cow.

She felt somewhat foolish.

And soon afterward the song sparrow told his wife that there was always somethingto learn, no matter if one were as old as the Muley Cow.

The Muley Cow couldn't quite believe what Mr. Song Sparrow had told her about the cowbirds. But if it was true, she didn't want anything more to do with them. And if it wasn't true, she intended to be specially agreeable to them.

In order to find out what was what, the Muley Cow made up her mind to ask the cowbirds a question the very next time she met them.

It wasn't long before they gathered around her again.

"We've come to rid you of flies once more," they announced as they began to jostle one another while they snapped at the insects hovering about the Muley Cow. And one fat cowbird remarked with a smirk that it was too bad they hadn't brought the children along to help.

The others grinned; for the cowbird youngsters were all being cared for by other birds who had big enough families of their own without looking after outsiders. But they didn't know that the Muley Cow had heard any stories about that.

"Do bring your children along with you the next time you come to the pasture," the Muley Cow urged them. "I'm very fond of little ones."

The cowbirds tittered. They seemed to think there was a great joke somewhere.

"Our children are too small to leave home just yet," the fat person told the Muley Cow.

"The smaller they are the more I like them," the Muley Cow declared. "Won't you show me where your nests are? I'd love to see the little darlings cuddled in their beds."

The cowbirds stopped catching flies andlooked uneasily at one another. The fat one, however, was somewhat bolder than the rest. He fluttered up and alighted right on the back of the Muley Cow.

"We don't take anybody to see our children until they leave the nests," he told the Muley Cow.

She knew, then, that the song sparrow had told her the truth.

"And I don't let cowbirds sit on my back—not after they're grown up!" she snapped. As she spoke, the Muley Cow fetched the pert gentleman a smart smack with her tail.

The blow caught him unawares and knocked him squawking upon the ground. At once his companions began to scold the Muley Cow. And so did he—as soon as he got his breath back. "You're a rough old thing!" he squalled.

"You're rascals—all of you!" cried theMuley Cow. "You can't fool me any longer. I know all about you. I wonder who named youcowbirds, for it's a deadly insult to me and all my family."

If it hadn't been for Johnnie Green there's no knowing how long the Muley Cow would have had to wear the wooden poke about her neck. Somehow Johnnie Green guessed that she didn't like it. So he teased his father to take the poke off her. And at last Farmer Green consented.

"We'll try her without it," he said. "We'll see how she behaves. We'll see if she has learned a lesson."

It was like a holiday for the Muley Cow when she went into the pasture without the heavy poke. For all her advancedage, she kicked up her heels and galloped clumsily over the hummocky hillside, quite like a frisky calf.

For just a moment or two she was tempted to jump the fence, she felt so gay. But luckily she remembered, before it was too late, that if she left the pasture she would probably have to wear the poke all the rest of that summer. And she decided it was worth her while to behave herself.

So she stopped running—for that was just a temptation to jump; and she began to pull at choice clumps of clover with her long tongue. Then, feeling thirsty, she went to the brook, where it flowed into the mill pond, to get a drink.

She splashed down into the water, not caring at all because she wet her feet. In fact, she liked the feeling of the cool water. She had stuck her nose into thebrook and had drunk several great swallows when a squeaky sort of voice cried, "Stop that!"

The Muley Cow lifted her head and stared all around, while drops of water trickled off her muzzle and fell back into the stream.

At first she couldn't see anybody. And then the voice called again, "Stop that! You'll drain our pond dry if you drink so much of our water."

Then the Muley Cow saw who was speaking. It was Paddy Muskrat. With his wife he had crept out on some stones a little way off. And there they stood, chattering and waving their paws at the Muley Cow.

"Go away!" Mrs. Muskrat shrieked. "We don't want you here."

Just then the Muley Cow noticed a big frog who sat on the bank of the brook andgrinned at her. "What would you do if you were I?" she asked him.

Ferdinand Frog (for it was he) said nothing for a few seconds, but wrinkled his low brow; for he was thinking deeply.

"I believe I'd carry a parasol if I were you," he said at last. "It's a hot day and I believe you'd enjoy the shade."

The Muley Cow was puzzled. She couldn't see that Mr. Frog's answer had anything to do with the case. But Paddy Muskrat exclaimed at once that Mr. Frog had hit on the very thing.

"Go get your parasol at once!" Paddy cried. "You're liable to have a sunstroke."

"But I haven't a parasol," she objected.

"Then borrow one from Farmer Green's wife," said Mrs. Paddy. "To be sure, I don't believe in borrowing—as arule. But it's different when somebody's in danger of a sunstroke."

Now, the Muley Cow began to feel very queer. She had never had a sunstroke; she had never even heard of one. But they sounded quite dreadful. So she climbed quickly up the bank and went and lay down in the shade of a great oak.

That was the best she could do. She knew that Farmer Green's wife would never lend her a parasol.

Anyhow, the Muskrat family was satisfied. They felt that they were no longer in danger of having their pond drained dry.

After Paddy Muskrat and his wife talked to her about sunstrokes, the Muley Cow tried to keep in the shade during the rest of the day.

Toward evening, who should come trotting out of the woods but Tommy Fox. When he noticed the Muley Cow (as he soon did, for the wind told him where she was) he turned aside to speak to her. He inquired carefully about her health, said that he hoped she was enjoying the fine weather, and remarked finally that he was glad he met her because it would save him a trip to the farmyard. "That is,"Tommy added, "if you don't mind carrying a message for me."

The Muley Cow had always heard that the Fox family was terribly sly and tricky. Still, Tommy was most polite. Really, she didn't like to say no.

He saw that she couldn't quite say yes. "It doesn't matter," he told her carelessly. "There's the little red cow over there. I know she'll be glad to oblige me."

That was just the thing to make the Muley Cow want to do his errand.

"I'm sure I should be delighted to accommodate you," she told Tommy Fox. "Give me your message. And when I go home this evening I'll deliver it."

"It's for the young gobbler, Turkey Proudfoot," Tommy Fox explained. "Please tell him that a gentleman wishes to meet him by the stone wall to-night, as soon as it grows dark."

"Very well!" said the Muley Cow. "I'll tell Turkey Proudfoot that I saw you and I'll give him your message."

"Oh! Please don't mention my name!" Tommy Fox begged her. "Just say, 'a gentleman.' You see, it's to be a surprise.... You know everybody likes surprises," he added, as he grinned at the Muley Cow in the most innocent way.

She remembered that she had liked surprises herself when she was younger. So she agreed to give Turkey Proudfoot the message exactly as Tommy Fox had told it to her.

And she did. When milking time came, and Johnnie Green and old dog Spot drove the cows home, down the long lane that led to the barn, and the Muley Cow saw Turkey Proudfoot strutting about the farmyard, she told him something. She told him that a slim, red gentleman with abushy tail and a sharp nose wanted to see him near the stone wall at nightfall. "He has a surprise for you," she added.

The moment he heard the message Turkey Proudfoot's tail drooped and he forgot to strut. He even shook slightly, as if something had frightened him. And then, to the Muley Cow's astonishment, he began to gobble at her.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself—trying to get me into trouble with Tommy Fox!" he scolded.

The Muley Cow was still more amazed. She hadn't mentioned Tommy Fox's name; and she couldn't understand how Turkey Proudfoot had guessed who the gentleman was. Besides, she wondered why Turkey Proudfoot was angry. Tommy Fox was such an agreeable person that she felt sure he must have planned a very pleasant surprise.

It appeared that Turkey Proudfoot had quite a different notion. It was so different that he didn't even dare to roost in the tree in front of the barn that night, but crowded right into the henhouse. The hens made a great fuss and ordered him out. But he simply wouldn't take the hint.

The Muley Cow noticed that Billy Woodchuck was making many trips back and forth across the pasture. Watching him carefully, she saw that he always crept under the fence and stole into the field where the clover grew. And every time he came back again he looked plumper than before.

"That clover's not intended for you," the Muley Cow told him at last. She thought that ought to be enough to stop him. But it made not the slightest difference. Billy Woodchuck continued to visit the clover-patch just as often as ever.And it seemed to the Muley Cow that he stayed longer each time he went there.

"Something will have to be done to keep that Woodchuck boy out of our clover," she announced to the rest of the herd. "If we don't stop him there'll be no nice clover hay for us next winter."

"Somebody ought to put a poke on him," said the little red cow. And everybody laughed—everybody except the Muley Cow. She saw nothing funny in the suggestion. She thought it silly; and she said as much, too: "Who ever heard of a Woodchuck wearing a poke about his neck?"

"Have you told Billy Woodchuck to keep out of the clover?" one of the Muley Cow's friends inquired.

"I've dropped a hint; but it seems he can't take a hint," the Muley Cow replied.

"Then someone will have to speak plainly to him," the friend said. And the whole herd told the Muley Cow that she was the one to do it, because she was the oldest cow on the farm.

So the next time that Billy Woodchuck hurried by on his way to the clover-patch, the Muley Cow stood right in his path and stopped him.

"Go back!" she said severely. "You mustn't eat any more clover. You've had too much of it already."

Billy Woodchuck sat up on his hind feet and stared very hard at the Muley Cow.

But he said never a word.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked him. "Can't you speak when you're spoken to? Have you nothing to say?"

It appeared that he had. "I was thinking,"he stammered, "what a pity it is that you lost your horns."

The Muley Cow gave a sort of snort.

"Don't be a ninny!" she cried. "I never lost my horns. I never had any to lose. That's why they call me the Muley Cow."

Billy Woodchuck sat as still as a mouse and never took his eyes off her. It gave the Muley Cow a queer turn to be looked at so steadily. It made her fidget and squirm.

"Well! well!" she exclaimed. "How strangely you act! What's the trouble with you? Are you ill?"

"No!" said Billy Woodchuck. "I was only thinking what a long face you have."

"Nothing of the sort!" the Muley Cow spluttered. "It's my opinion that you can't see well. There must be something wrong with your eyes. And I haven't adoubt that the trouble is just this: You've eaten too much clover."

Billy Woodchuck was a great deal wiser than the Muley Cow had ever suspected. She had thought she could frighten him. By telling him that he couldn't see well because he had eaten too much clover, she actually expected to keep him out of the clover-patch. So she had a great surprise when he said to her:

"You must be mistaken. I know there's nothing the matter with my eyes, becauseI can see right through you!"

The Muley Cow knew then that she had only been wasting words on Billy Woodchuck. She realized that she hadn't frightened him in the least. And she felt sure that the moment her back was turned he would scurry into the clover-patch and nip off as many of the juicy red tops as he could hold.

illo2The Muley Cow Tries to Stop Billy Woodchuck.(Page 80)

The Muley Cow Tries to Stop Billy Woodchuck.(Page 80)

So she turned away. And sure enough! The moment she moved aside, out of his path, Billy Woodchuck made a bee line for the fence. He was under it in a twinkling.

And the Muley Cow knew what was happening to the clover-tops.

"There's only one thing to do," she muttered to herself. "I'll speak to old dog Spot about this Woodchuck youngster."

So she did, that very evening. When Spot came to drive the cows home she told him that there was a young son of Mrs. Woodchuck who spent most of his time in the clover-patch. "I know you'll beinterested to hear the news," she said.

Old Spot shook his head.

"It's no use," he growled. "I've known for weeks what was going on in that field of clover. It's full of Woodchucks. But I never can catch them. They always have a sentinel—a watcher—who whistles if I try to surprise them."

"But I don't want you tocatchthem," the Muley Cow explained. "I only want you toscarethem. And most of all, I want you to frighten that young Billy Woodchuck. He's the greediest of the lot."

"I could chase them home a dozen times a day and they'd always come back again," said old Spot with a sigh.

The Muley Cow saw that she could expect little help from him. And it made her feel a bit peevish.

"We need a good, young dog on thisfarm," she declared. "One that's not old and fat and lazy!"

Now, Spot knew better than to argue with the Muley Cow. But he couldn't help saying to her, "Let's see! You and I are just the same age, aren't we?"

And for once the Muley Cow wished she had horns to prick somebody with.

It was a long time since the Muley Cow had jumped the pasture fence. By making her wear a poke for a while Farmer Green had taught her to behave herself. But there came a day, finally, when she made up her mind that just one more jump wouldn't do any great harm.

There had been a strong wind during the night, which had whipped a good many red apples off the trees. It was when the Muley Cow smelled them that she decided that she would jump the fence. She wanted to get into the orchard before anybody could pick up the apples and takethem to the cider mill. So over the fence went the Muley Cow.

She had a pleasant time eating apples—until something happened to put an end to her feast. Something kept the Muley Cow from swallowing another mouthful.

It was lucky that Johnnie Green felt hungry. He went to the orchard himself to fill his pockets with apples, when he saw the Muley Cow—his own Muley Cow—acting in the strangest manner. She was staggering about among the trees and making the queerest sounds.

Johnnie Green ran quickly to the barn and called to his father. "There's something wrong with the Muley Cow!"

"Where is she?" his father asked him.

"In the orchard!" Johnnie said.

Farmer Green caught up a whip—a whip with a long lash and a limber stock.With Johnnie following him he ran out of the barn, across the yard, and into the orchard. "Don't whip her for jumping the fence!" Johnnie pleaded.

His father never said a word.

"I wish I hadn't told him," Johnnie Green panted. He was doing his best to keep up with his father. He thought he would rather take a whipping himself than have the Muley Cow get one. But he didn't know how he could ever make his father feel the same way. He had noticed that his father reached for the whip as if he fully intended to use it.

When Farmer Green reached the Muley Cow he did a queer thing. At least it seemed queer to Johnnie. Instead of whipping the Muley Cow, his father ran the whip-stock down her throat!

"What's the matter?" Johnnie asked. "Why do you do that?"

"She's choked over an apple," his father explained, "and I'm trying to shove it along."

Well, it wasn't a great while before the Muley Cow seemed to be quite herself again.

"Rough treatment!" Farmer Green remarked. "But it certainly fixed her."

"Why did she choke?" Johnnie wanted to know.

"She tried to swallow a whole apple," said his father. "Whenever you feed such things as apples or potatoes to a cow you must always chop them into pieces.... Now drive the old cow to the barn," he told Johnnie. "She'll have to wear a poke again."

When the Muley Cow heard that she wondered if she hadn't been very foolish.

"How lucky some people are!" said old Mr. Crow. He was talking to the Muley Cow, in the pasture. And though she didn't specially care for his company, she was curious enough to ask him what he meant.

"I was just thinking," Mr. Crow explained, "I was just thinking what a hard life I lead, and how I have to hunt around to find whatever I can to eat. In winter it's usually poor pickings for me. But some people have their meals set right under their noses. They don't even need to stir."

"I suppose," the Muley Cow ventured, "you're thinking about us cows."

"I am," he admitted. "You have such an easy time that often I actually wish I had been born a cow myself."

The Muley Cow shook her head.

"That would have been impossible," she murmured.

Old Mr. Crow flared up at once.

"I'd like to know why!" he shrieked. He was always ill-mannered when he was angry.

The Muley Cow stared at him coolly. She was a calm person, generally.

"You would have had to be a calf, in the beginning," she explained.

"Of course! Of course!" Mr. Crow spluttered. "Of course I knew that. You needn't bother to tell me things that everybody knows."

"Being a cow is not all fun, I assureyou," the Muley Cow continued. "The trouble is, you can't go and come as you please. You have to do about as you're told. And I'm sure you wouldn't like that, Mr. Crow."

"Perhaps not!" he admitted somewhat grudgingly. "But they're not always looking for you with a gun," he croaked. "And you always have plenty of company."

"Too much, sometimes," said the Muley Cow. "You can get off by yourself whenever you want to. But how's a cow to get away from the herd?"

"She can jump the fence," said old Mr. Crow with a wicked gleam in his eye.

"Yes! yes!" the Muley Cow agreed hastily. "But we won't discuss that. And remember—a cow couldn't go miles and miles around Blue Mountain in just a few minutes, as you can."

The old gentleman couldn't see that there was anything specially pleasant in making long flights. "When I travel, it's generally because I'm hungry," he said. "It's because I'd starve if I stood still. And in winter I have to step lively, I can tell you. Food's scarce then, for us crows. We have to snatch a morsel wherever we can find it, while you fat cows are having the best of things in a warm barn.... Yes!" he declared somewhat sourly. "You're enjoying the finest of food—out of season, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said the Muley Cow.

"Corn!" Mr. Crow snapped. "Doesn't Farmer Green fill the silo with corn in the summer? And doesn't he feed it to you in the winter? Deny it if you can!"

Mr. Crow had been talking about the corn in the silo, which Farmer Green fed to the herd during the winter. And the Muley Cow could see that he was growing angrier every moment.

"Well! well!" she exclaimed. "You don't object—do you?—if Farmer Green feeds us corn that he raised himself."

"Certainly I do!" Mr. Crow fumed. "It's not fair. He doesn't store away any nice sweet corn in a silo for me."

"Ah! You wouldn't like it if he did," the Muley Cow told him.

"Why not?" Mr. Crow asked. "Whyshouldn't I enjoy nice sweet corn in the dead of winter?"

"Because—" said the Muley Cow—"because the corn from the silo isn't sweet. It's sour, Mr. Crow. And you wouldn't care for it at all."

The old gentleman looked surprised.

"How sour is it?" he inquired.

"I'd hate to say," the Muley Cow replied.

"I insist on your telling me," he croaked. "I insist; for I've a right to know."

"Well," said the Muley Cow, "the corn from the silo is not quite as sour as your temper, Mr. Crow. And that's all I can say."

That seemed to be enough for him. He asked no more questions, but flew off in a terrible rage. And he told all his friends that it was a shame, the way FarmerGreen ruined the corn by putting it in the silo. "It turns sour," he explained. "And Farmer Green has to feed it to the cows, because nobody else will eat it."

All the crows in Pleasant Valley agreed that it was a pity to spoil good corn like that. They even had a meeting—a crow caucus—in the pine woods, they were so upset.

"What can we do about it?" they asked one another.

Nobody could supply an answer.

"If we could eat all the corn before it's cut, we could save it—" old Mr. Crow began.

But the rest shouted him down. They knewthatcouldn't be done.

"There's your friend, the Muley Cow," said one of them to old Mr. Crow. "Why don't you tell her that Farmer Green's not treating the herd well? He givesthem spoiled corn. If they'd refuse to eat it, it would serve him right."

"A good idea!" said everybody else—except old Mr. Crow. As for him, he made a wry face.

"I don't enjoy talking with the Muley Cow," he objected. "Besides, a talk with her would be of no use. She's one of the most stupid people I ever saw."

After a good deal of teasing by his cronies Mr. Crow at last consented to speak to the Muley Cow once more. And flying to the pasture, he flapped down near her.

"If I had been born a calf—" Mr. Crow began. But he got no further than that before the Muley Cow broke in upon his words.

"If you hadn't been born a rascal everybody would have a better opinion of you," she told him.

He began squawking at her at the top of his lungs.

But the Muley Cow didn't care. She continued to twist her tongue around mouthfuls of grass quite as if Mr. Crow had never been born at all.

And that was the end of that.

illo3The Muley Cow Upsets Jack O'Lantern.(Page 100)

The Muley Cow Upsets Jack O'Lantern.(Page 100)

Nobody had ever supposed that the Muley Cow had much courage. In many ways she seemed quite timid. Perhaps if she had had horns she would have been different. Anyhow, whenever anything startled her the only thing she ever did was to run away, if she could. If old dog Spot barked at her heels the Muley Cow always hurried to get out of reach of his snapping jaws. If Farmer Green shouted at her she was more than likely to mind him. And usually she even did as Johnnie Green told her to do. In all her life she was never known to fight. Yet therecame a time when many of her friends claimed that she was very brave indeed.

On a crisp fall evening a terrible, grinning fellow known as Jack O'Lantern appeared about the farmhouse. Johnnie Green, at least, did not fear him, in spite of his flaming features. For Johnnie and Jack spent the whole evening together. Whenever the clatter of a wagon sounded from the road, the two rushed out to the gate, to be there when the wagon passed.

It was said that strangers seemed to be frightened. Anyhow, shouts were heard. Old dog Spot did a great deal of barking. And Miss Kitty Cat hid under the woodpile. Queer tales travelled like wildfire that night. All the after-dark prowlers knew about Jack O'Lantern. And some of them saw—and feared—him.

After Johnnie Green went to bed Jack sat a long time on a fence post and grinnedat the black night. And nobody—except Benjamin Bat—dared go near him.

After a while Jack O'Lantern vanished. His gleaming eyes no longer flashed, his horrid mouth no longer grinned. And nobody cared to go near the place where he had sat, to see what had become of him.

At dawn Miss Kitty Cat crawled out of the woodpile to do a little early hunting. And she claimed that at that hour Jack O'Lantern still sat on the fence post. She saw the back of his head—so she said. And that was enough for her. She did not look at him a second time. And yet—when broad daylight came Jack O'Lantern had vanished completely.

It was a great mystery. And when at last the Muley Cow spoke up and said that she had done for Jack O'Lantern, nobody could believe her.

When Miss Kitty Cat heard the newsshe went at once to the pasture. And going straight to the Muley Cow she made bold to ask her a question: "Is it true that you made away with that dreadful Jack O'Lantern?"

"Yes!" the Muley Cow replied. "I was the first one out of the barn this morning. And I knocked Jack O'Lantern off the fence post."

"What happened then?" Miss Kitty Cat wanted to know, as she stared round-eyed at the Muley Cow.

"He broke into a dozen pieces."

Miss Kitty Cat was suspicious. "If that's so, where are the pieces?"

"I ate them," the Muley Cow explained.

And everybody said she was very, very brave. And everybody shuddered at the Muley Cow's next remark. "The pieces tasted very good," she said. "It was as fine pumpkin as I ever ate."

The Muley Cow rather enjoyed the talk she caused because she had eaten Jack O'Lantern. And feeling that any one so brave ought not to appear too meek and mild, she sometimes tried to look as fierce as she could.

Somehow she could never manage a frown when old dog Spot was about. But if she came across Master Meadow Mouse all alone in the pasture she never failed to bellow at him and ask him in a gruff tone what he was doing there.

When she first spoke to him like that Master Meadow Mouse was startled.

"I'm only taking a stroll," he piped.

The Muley Cow glared at him for a few moments. She wanted to act ferocious; but unfortunately she could think of nothing more to say. And not wishing to seem at a loss for words, she began to cough.

Before she had stopped coughing Master Meadow Mouse ran away. And that was exactly what the Muley Cow had hoped he would do. It would have been very awkward for her if he had waited until she had stopped coughing. For try as she would, she could think of nothing ferocious to say.

The next time the Muley Cow met Master Meadow Mouse she bellowed at him again and stamped her feet at him, so that the ground trembled beneath him. He was too frightened to run. So he stood still and shivered. And that made the Muley Cow quite uncomfortable. MasterMeadow Mouse stared at her while he panted with fright. And again the Muley Cow could think of nothing but pleasant remarks to make.

So she began coughing once more. But to her great dismay Master Meadow Mouse didn't run away. And since she couldn't cough forever, but had to stop sometime, she paused to get her breath. And then she asked him a question.

"Can't you see I'm very fierce?" she inquired. "Why don't you run away?"

"I was waiting to see what happened," said Master Meadow Mouse pleasantly. "I thought maybe you'd choke."

Well, the Muley Cow was so surprised she didn't know what to say to that. And to hide her confusion she started coughing again.

Again she stopped, for of course she soon had to. Master Meadow Mouse hadwaited hopefully, watching her closely to see if she were not going to choke that time, anyhow. And when she didn't he was quite disappointed.

"Try it again—will you?" he besought the Muley Cow.

"What!" she bawled. "Do youwantme to choke?"

"Yes!" he told her. "I thought that if you did, Farmer Green would come and run a whip-stock down your throat. And that would be great fun to watch, you know."

The Muley Cow gasped. She saw that Master Meadow Mouse knew all about her choking over an apple, in the orchard. And that was something she never liked to talk about. To tell the truth, she was somewhat ashamed of the whole affair. "Go away!" she bade Master Meadow Mouse. "Go away! I don't wantanything to do with you." But her voice wasn't the least bit fierce. Nor was he the least bit frightened.

In the end it was the Muley Cow herself that ran off. And Master Meadow Mouse even followed her all the way to the bars.

The Muley Cow was so ashamed to have been chased by a Meadow Mouse (and a young one, at that!) that she scarcely dared look anybody in the face until milking-time.

All the cows in the barn were much upset. They had heard some news that didn't please them. Farmer Green was going to buy a milking machine!

"He'll never use it on me," the Muley Cow declared. "None of my family has ever been milked by a machine; and I don't intend to be the first."

Her companions all felt just as she did. If Farmer Green could have listened to their mutterings and rumblings and murmurings he might not have dared bring home any milking machine. But he never dreamed that the whole herd wasagainstone. As for his son Johnnie—and even the hired man—they had said all along that they thought a milking machine would be a fine thing to have.

The hired man had milked cows all his life—millions of them, so he said! And he told Johnnie that he no longer found any fun in turning out of a warm bed on a cold winter's morning long before daylight, to milk cows.

Now, Johnnie Green had only learned to milk during the summer before. But strange to say, he had already begun to feel somewhat as the hired man did. Milking was not half the sport that it was in the beginning.

The great day came at last when the milking machine arrived. There was an unusual bustle in the cow barn while it was being set up and tested. Since it was winter, the cows had little else to do butwatch what was going on—and grumble. They all felt just as they had when they first heard about the new machine—that is, all but the little red cow, who always stood next to the Muley Cow when they were in the barn.

To everybody's surprise the little red cow announced that she was glad the milking machine had come. "You're behind the times," she said to the Muley Cow. "You prefer to be milked by hand, the old-fashioned way. But I like new-fangled things. And folks say that milking machines are very stylish this winter."

For a few moments the Muley Cow gazed, open-mouthed, at the little red cow. "You don't mean to say," she gasped at last, as soon as she could speak, "you don't mean to say you're going to let them hitch that machine to you, do you?"

"Certainly I am!" cried the little redcow. "If I want to be fashionable I'm sure it's nobody else's affair."

The Muley Cow turned to the big white cow, who stood listening eagerly to every word.

"We'd better ask Farmer Green to move us," the Muley Cow said to her. "This neighborhood is getting too fashionable for us."

"Not for me!" the big white cow replied. "I quite agree with the lady on the other side of you. And we really ought to speak to Farmer Green about changing our places—she and I. For it's not half stylish enough for us here."

When she saw how both the little red cow and the big white one felt about the milking machine, more than ever the Muley Cow vowed that she would never be milked by it. No, never!

The new milking machine was all ready to use.

"Which one are you going to try it on first?" the hired man asked Farmer Green.

"Let's hitch it to the little red cow," said Johnnie Green's father.

The little red cow gave the Muley Cow a sly nudge. "Did you hear that?" she asked. "Farmer Green knows who's fashionable. He chooses me to be first! And it's a great honor."

"Nonsense!" said the Muley Cow. "He picked you because you're the smallestcow on the farm. He thinks you wouldn't dare object to the milking machine.... Just you wait till they try it on me! I'll kick! I'll bellow! I'll switch my tail at them!"

The little red cow made no reply. Already Farmer Green and the hired man had stepped up beside her. And they were just about to fasten the milking machine to her when the big white cow let out a frightened bawl.

"What's the matter?" the little red cow asked her.

"I was just thinking," she stammered, "what a terrible thing it would be if they couldn't stop the machine!"

That was an awful thought. Such an idea had never entered the red cow's head. And the moment she heard it she no longer wanted to be fashionable. She was so alarmed that she lashed out with both hindfeet in a most unladylike manner. And she plunged and roared and made such a fuss that Farmer Green and the hired man left her in disgust.

"She hasn't the brains of a hen," Farmer Green declared.

"Shall we try the big white cow?" the hired man asked him.

"No! She's a numskull too," said Farmer Green. He was feeling somewhat cross, for the little red cow had given him a smart kick. "Let's take the old Muley. She knows something, even if she is a jumper."

Well, what could the Muley Cow do? She had declared to all her friends that she wouldnotbe milked by any new-fangled milking machine. But when Farmer Green spoke so pleasantly about her she hadn't the heart to disappoint him. So she stood quite still for a few minutes.And soon she had the honor of being the first cow in the herd to be milked the fashionable new way.

The little red cow was frightfully jealous of her. And she called the Muley Cow "an old humbug."

"You said you wouldn't let them do it," the little red cow spluttered. "And here you are, with the honor of being first!"

"And you—" the Muley Cow retorted—"you said you were glad the milking machine had come. But you certainly didn't act pleased when they offered to use it on you.... Speaking of humbugs, I should say you were one yourself."

For once the little red cow had nothing to say. The herd agreed that it was thefirstdispute in which she hadn't had the final word. And to their surprise, ever afterward the little red cow was meek and mild. She even let Farmer Green milkher with the milking machine. And there was only one thing that ever vexed her. She never could bear to hear the wordhumbug.

Somehow the whole herd became gentler. At last Farmer Green announced proudly, right in their hearing, that they were giving more milk.

"It's the milking machine," he told the hired man. "The cows like it."

But the Muley Cow knew better than that. She was too polite to say as much to Farmer Green. She wouldn't dream of disputing what he said, though she knew well enough that he had not guessed the secret. Being only a man, he had not noticed how fashionable the cows had become. And since no cow can be a fine, fashionable dame if she is rude, noisy and quarrelsome, they simply had to be on their best behavior all the time.

And they were especially particular about two matters. They ate—neatly—every bit of fodder that was set before them, and gave all the milk they could in return for it.

THE END

Back to IndexNext