ARABELLA THE COW

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 934, 29 March 1930, Page 29

ARABELLA THE COW

Who Had a Heart of Gold

j Once upon a time, there was i tuw. i named Arabella, who was the very i ugliest cow that ever was seen. One I side of her face was white, but the | other was black, and her body was | covered with black patches—not nice 1 even patches the way some cows are ! marked, but funny, queer-shaped f ; blotches, just as though somebody had i splashed a bottle'of ink over her white i sides. Her horns were crooked and j • pointed different ways, she was lame in 1 j one leg and inclined to be hump* 1 backed, and she had th< m >st ui gainlj way of walking that any cow had ever ; had before. | But in spite' of all these outward i i drawbacks, there was one very tine ; thing about her—she had a heart ol i gold. She never got cross or sulky, no ! matter how much people jeered at her j ugly looks, and she was always ready j 1 to do anybody a kindness. Even when the other cows wouldn’t let her walk beside them when they went down t*> ! the river to drink or tip to the milkingshed to be milked, because they were ; ashamed of her plain appearance, she ; didn’t grow angry. “It isn’t to be expected that such nice-looking cows would care to be seen walking about in my company." ' she “"would say to herself. And she would follow behind the other cows at : a respectful distance and do her best i to look as though she didn’t belong to ; them so as not to disgrace them, if any stranger chanced to come along. The farmer to whom Arabella be- ! longed thought its little ol her as the j other cows did. He was a stupid | kind of man, who didn’t care a bit j whether or not his cows had hearts of { gold. He was much more concerned • about the quantity of milk they gave ! than he was about their characters. He kept careful records of their milking qualities, and he always stood by with a little notebook while the cows ! were being milked and entered down ; ; in it just how many gallons and quarts | and pints each of them gave. And the i thin Arabella didn’t give as much milk , as the other cows—though that wasn't ! her fault! You can’t if you’re a cow. j give good milk unless you have good | food, and Arabella Was so kind-hearted 1 that she always gave up half her pori tion of food and the nicest grass in th - (meadows to the other cows. Because fshe didn't give, as much milk as the i other well-fed cows, lie made up his ] mind to sell her. ! “I’ll send her to the market, next : market-day,’’ he said. “And let her Igo for what she’ll fetch. I daresay j someono will give me something for ! her skin and bones.” ; “There! IDo you hear that? You’re | to be sent to the market to be sold for | your skin and bones.” said the other i cows. And they made Arabella keep ! farther away from them than ever, for they thought that it was a dreadful disgrace to be friends with a- cow who was only fit to be sold fpr her skin and bones. Poor Arabella was very unhappy when she heard that she was to l •- sold j Although her life wasn’t a particularly well-fed one, there were lots of things about it that she liked. She liked to eat the green meadow grass when the other cows would let her have any of it. She liked to lie in the sunshine chewing the cud. she liked to stand knee-deep in the cool, brown water of the river, nicking her sides lazily with her long tail.

She didn’t at all want to be sent ?» • market to be sold for her skin.an.1 j bones. The more she thought about it. the more she didn’t want it, and as siri roamed about the fields during the

last lew days before the next iu.uk,. day came round, she shod bitter tea; > to think that she would never see tl things she loved so much any mor The days llovv quickly away, and a. last it came to the night before th next market. As the cows were being Pot into their stalls. Arabella h« ard tla iarmer telling the cowman to be up in good time next morning, so that h could take the cow with the crooked horns t . market. And she felt dread fully miserable and wretched, and stood with vlrouping head in a. cornex of the cow-slied and wished and wished that she was better-looking: so tha* the other cows would let her have more to eat and she could give better mill and not have to be sold for her skin and bones. Cut that night, while the farmer wa* asleep, a pixy came to the door of tlcowshed and begged the cows to giv» him a bowl full of milk. Pixies, vc know, are little fairy men who live in the woods and fields, and sleep all da;, and wake all night and are very, vei \ fond of creamy milk for drinking. But the cows in the farmer’s shed wouldn't listen to the pixy's request. “Give you some of our milk. Indeed' Or course we shall do no such thinWe don't want to spoil our milk r* cords for tomorrow morning,” the* said, tossing their heads and swishing their tails indignantly. " “Please let me have just a little, coaxed the pixy. “I have a pixy friend cnine to visit me and 1 haven’t a drop of drink to offer him. Half a bowl fu". then. If you can’t spare a whole bowl. wake the farmer,” said the cows. Ami the pixy was going very dlsappointedl> away when Arabella lifted her head ami spoke to him. “You e.in have some of my milk S you like,” she said. “I haven’t very much, but your bowl isn’t very big. 1 think there will be enough :•* fill it. I’m going to bo sent to ma: t»ket in the morning, to be sold for I difference to mv milking record and, anyway, 1 shall he very pleased to give it to you. Bring your bowl and mil*; in . Take as much as you wish.” “Oh. thank you! Thank you very much indeed.” said the pixy gratefully And lid hurried to milk Arabella an * filled his bowl with milk. “Why are you to be sold?” asked, when he had taken all the milk he wanted. “Because l don’t give enough milk, said Arabella. “And why don’t you give enoug i milk? Don't you get enough food : • eat?” asked the pixy, who was a wise* man than the farmer and guessed that there was some reason for Arabella - poor milking record. “Xot quite enough.” said Arabella “How is that?” said the pixy. “Well, you see, 1 am so ugly. The other cows don’t care about being seen feeding with me. So I have to wait until they have, finished, and by that time there isn’t generally much food left,” Arabella explained. *T see.” said the pixy, lie looked a - " Arabella thoughtfully for u minute or two. Even by the pale light •*f the moon lie could see that she was ver. very ugly. “Suppose that ! were to make you D uutiful in return for your kindness me tonight,” he said at last. '■Could you make me beautiful? Ok. 2« uld you?” Arabella cried. “I could. Ye®, and 1 will, too.” said ! the pixy. “Just wait while 1 find a fairy and borrow a magic wand.” And -u* scuttled away, to return almout directly with a magic wand, which be waved over Arabella’s drooping head. “ lie as beautiful outwardly as you are kind inwardly,*” he said. And—dll in n minute —the ugly, patchy, clumsy Arabella changed into the most beautiful cow that ever was born. Her black patches faded away and she became white ii 11 over. a beautiful rich creamy white, as pure and rich as tire richest of dairy cream. Her horn* grew straight, her lame leg sound, the hump on her hack disappeared. Her I tjyes grew big end dark with lovehne6S. am! her breath became as swee as the sweetest scented flowers of spring. In fact, she was just as beautiful now as she had been «igly and the other cows stared and stared at her. wondering if it was really true , or if they were dreaming. , When morning dawned and the cou - 1 man came to take Arabella to marke.. he couldn't And the lean, ugly patch , white cow anywhere at all. Instead, there was this beautiful stranger, and . the cowman, too. began to wonder if ho was dreaming. lie went to feten the farmer, and the farmer came, and stared, and the farmer’s wife cam**, too and the farmer’s children, and all the farmer’s men. until there was quite crowd gathered at the door of the shed. “It must bo ;* fairy cow,” said the farmer. “Such a cow is. too good feme. I’ll sell her to the King. I should . think he’ll give me at least a hundred pounds for her.” But Arabella didn’t see why sh** should be sold just so that the farm**-, who had been willing to let her be killed for the sake of her bones and skin, should make a hundred pound*She really was a fairy cow by this tint* and possessed fairy powers. And she } gave a great spring and jumped right over the moon into Fairyland. ! She is still living there, and you rna. |be sure when pixies call they never 1 wairt for rich, creamy milk.