E-text prepared by
Juliet Sutherland, Jessica Hope,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
()

“My name is Molly. This is the namemy mistress gave me, and now everyone calls me by it.

“Four years ago I was a little calf. Atfirst I was as helpless as a babe, and had tobe fed with my mother’s milk.

“At that time I was of no use to my master;but the children were very fond of me,and they often came into the field to playwith me.

“Sometimes they tied ribbons round myneck, and called me pet names, and we allhad a good romp together in the meadow.

“Now I am a grown-up cow, and I givemilk to all the little children who live at thefarm.

“I do not play with them now as I didwhen I was a calf; but when they offer me abunch of nice clover, I am always glad to eatit.

“There comes Nancy, the milk-maid, withthe milk-pail. She is coming to milk me,and I am glad I have plenty to give her.

“My master is very kind to me. In winter,when the cold weather comes, I have anice home to livein, with plenty ofclean straw to lieon.

“In summer Iam out in thegreen fields allthe day long. Ihave plenty to eat, and nothing to do.

“I do not work like the horse. So theleast I can do is to supply my master withplenty of milk; indeed it is for my milk thathe keeps me. Perhaps you do not know howuseful milk is. Cream, butter, and cheese areall made from it.

“And now little boys and girls, after thislong talk I must go down to the river sideand cool myself.”

The good cow marched away down to theriver. She was soon standing in the water,and using her long tail to whisk away theflies that were buzzing about her.

The Calf

The Horse

There was a calf in the lot, and Al tookthe tin pail in his hand and went outto feed it.

Al thought it would be quite as glad to getits breakfast as the pigs were to get theirs.

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