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Moo Cow Tales - Rosamund Edith Nesbit Bland · Romance Book Collection

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Speaker 1: Section one of Moo Cow Tails. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read
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Speaker 1: by Hope Moo Cow Tails by Rosamond Edith Nesbit Bland.
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Speaker 1: The Little bull Calf and the Poppy. There was once
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Speaker 1: a little calf who was always unhappy. He had a
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Speaker 1: dear mother and two nice little white cousins with brown ears,
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Speaker 1: and a beautiful field to live in, quite full of
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Speaker 1: buttercups and daisies and cow parsley, which little calves mustn't
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Speaker 1: eat because it makes them ill. And yet he wasn't happy.
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Speaker 1: It was really because all the other cows and calves
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Speaker 1: could not understand him. And this was why this little
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Speaker 1: calf loved everything that was read. And of course you
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Speaker 1: know that cows and bulls generally hate red things. Now,
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Speaker 1: the field next the cow's field was a cornfield, and
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Speaker 1: among the corn there were a great many scarlet poppies.
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Speaker 1: The little calf thought that he had never seen anything
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Speaker 1: so beautiful as these red flowers, and he always longed
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Speaker 1: to get into the cornfield and kiss the poppies and
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Speaker 1: tell them how much he loved them. All day long,
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Speaker 1: he used to stand with his little face pressed against
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Speaker 1: the hedge, looking into the cornfield. And when the farmer's
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Speaker 1: boy brought a bucket of food for the little calves,
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Speaker 1: this little calf let his cousins eat all up and
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Speaker 1: stood gazing at his darling poppies. One day he found
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Speaker 1: a gap in the hedge just big enough for a
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Speaker 1: little calf to squeeze through, And in a twinkling he
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Speaker 1: was through the hole and among his dear flowers. He
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Speaker 1: rolled about in the corn and kissed the poppies and said,
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Speaker 1: dear little bright flowers, I wish you would come into
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Speaker 1: my field and live there with me. But the flowers
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Speaker 1: did not speak to him. Then he got up and
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Speaker 1: wandered all over the field, talking to all the poppies,
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Speaker 1: until at last he stopped before the large and read
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Speaker 1: at poppy of all, how beautiful you are? He said,
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Speaker 1: can't you speak to me? And the tears came into
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Speaker 1: his brown eyes because none of the poppies seemed to
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Speaker 1: love him. Yes, said the poppy, I can speak to you.
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Speaker 1: What do you want me to say? And why are
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Speaker 1: you crying? Be careful now to drop your tears on me,
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Speaker 1: because they are all warm and would wither my petals.
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Speaker 1: I only wanted to tell you that I love you
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Speaker 1: and want you to come and live with me in
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Speaker 1: my field, said the little bull calf. Is it a
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Speaker 1: nice field, said the poppy. Yes, he said, it's a
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Speaker 1: beautiful field, full of buttercups and daisies, and mother lives there,
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Speaker 1: and my cousins and all mother's friends. I don't like
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Speaker 1: buttercups and daisies and all your mother's friends, said the poppy.
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Speaker 1: You must go away, a little calf.
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Speaker 2: And look.
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Speaker 1: She suddenly screamed, you have trodden down all our dear friends.
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Speaker 1: The corniers be off with you at once, you wicked,
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Speaker 1: wicked creature. And she waved her leaves and shook so
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Speaker 1: much with anger that the little calf was quite frightened
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Speaker 1: and stumbled through the corn to his old hedge. But
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Speaker 1: just as he was going to get through the hole,
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Speaker 1: he heard a gentle little voice at his feet, and
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Speaker 1: looking down, saw another poppy. She was smaller than the
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Speaker 1: other poppies, but she looked at him with her beautiful
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Speaker 1: black eye and said, dear little calf, I have watched
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Speaker 1: you looking through the hedge every day, and I love
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Speaker 1: you and will come and live in your field. Take
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Speaker 1: me gently in your mouth and pull me up. But
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Speaker 1: just as he was going to do it, the poppy
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Speaker 1: cried out, quick, little calf, quick, I hear the farmer's footsteps.
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Speaker 1: If he finds you here, he will beat you. You
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Speaker 1: must go back without me, and the little calf scrambled
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Speaker 1: back through the hole in the hedge just as the
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Speaker 1: farmer came up. Of course, the farmer was terribly angry
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Speaker 1: when he saw all his corn trampled down, and he
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Speaker 1: sent the men to fill up the hole in the
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Speaker 1: hedge at once so that our little calf couldn't get
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Speaker 1: his dear poppy. Now time went on, and our little
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Speaker 1: calf began to grow up, and he did all sorts
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Speaker 1: of dreadful things because he still loved everything that was red.
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Speaker 1: He chased an old lady all down the lane because
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Speaker 1: she was wearing a red shawl and he wanted to
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Speaker 1: rub his head against it. He hid up the paint
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Speaker 1: rag belonging to a man who came to paint the
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Speaker 1: cows in the cornfield because it was covered with red paint.
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Speaker 1: I don't know why it was covered with bright red,
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Speaker 1: because cows are not bright red or buttercups and daisies either,
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Speaker 1: are they. But still it was, and one day he
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Speaker 1: even went into the farmer's wife's red sitting room and
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Speaker 1: sat on the floor with his head among the scarlet
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Speaker 1: cushions on the sofa. After this, everyone thought he must
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Speaker 1: be mad, and the farmer's sons called him the crazy
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Speaker 1: bull calf. But all this time he never once forgot
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Speaker 1: his dear Poppy, and every evening he went down to
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Speaker 1: the hole in the hedge and talked through it to
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Speaker 1: her until the autumn came and she went to seed.
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Speaker 1: But when the next summer came and he was almost
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Speaker 1: a full grown bull, he went down to his hole
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Speaker 1: in the hedge, and there in his own field was
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Speaker 1: a little red poppy, and he knew at once that
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Speaker 1: it had grown up from one of the seeds of
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Speaker 1: his own poppy, which the kind wind had carried and
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Speaker 1: dropped in the cowfield. So all the summer he talked
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Speaker 1: to his poppy and loved her, and she loved him,
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Speaker 1: and they were very happy. But when the autumn came,
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Speaker 1: the poppy knew she must die, and they were both
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Speaker 1: very sad. One day, when the young bull was lying
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Speaker 1: down watching his dear poppies petals beginning to shrivel, and
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Speaker 1: as he was trying to shield her from the sun,
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Speaker 1: the green witch of the fields came along. She stopped
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Speaker 1: when she saw the two friends, and the tears came
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Speaker 1: into her eyes because she was sorry for them. But
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Speaker 1: she quickly dashed her tears away because of a green
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Speaker 1: witch ever drops her tears, she loses all her power
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Speaker 1: and becomes a sort of green stuff which the wind
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Speaker 1: carries away and drops on to the ponds. You must
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Speaker 1: often have seen it there. Perhaps your nurse told you
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Speaker 1: it was duck weed, But now you will know better,
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Speaker 1: won't you, And you must never try to walk on it,
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Speaker 1: because you see, the witches have lost their powers and
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Speaker 1: cannot hold you up. Well. When the witch found that
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Speaker 1: the two friends could nearly make her cry, she was
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Speaker 1: very frightened, and she said to herself, I must do
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Speaker 1: something for the poppy so that she can always be
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Speaker 1: with her friend, because if I pass by when the
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Speaker 1: poppy is dead, I shall certainly drop my tears, and
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Speaker 1: that would never do. So she waved her green wand
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Speaker 1: over the poppy and changed her into a little red fairy. Now,
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Speaker 1: she said you can live forever with your friend. Goodbye,
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Speaker 1: dear children. And she slipped away on the wings of
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Speaker 1: the wind. So now the bull had his poppy fairy
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Speaker 1: always with him. And in the summer she rode upon
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Speaker 1: his horns, and in the cold weather she at his ear,
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Speaker 1: just where the velvety soft hairs are. And in all
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Speaker 1: the world there is not a more merry, beautiful fairy
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Speaker 1: than she, or a happier bull than he. End of
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Speaker 1: section one.
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Speaker 3: Section two of Moocow Tails. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 3: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 3: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Moocow
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Speaker 3: Tales by Rosamund Edith nesbit Bland. The Sacred Bull, Buttercup
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Speaker 3: and Daisy stood at the edge of the pond in
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Speaker 3: the cowfield. It was very hot, and Daisy was cross.
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Speaker 3: The flies worried her, so she stood with her two
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Speaker 3: four feet in the water. Her mother had told her
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Speaker 3: not to, But as I said before, Daisy was cross.
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Speaker 3: And when little calves are cross and the weather is
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Speaker 3: warm and the water is cold, they don't always do
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Speaker 3: as they are told. Buttercup didn't put her feet in
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Speaker 3: the water, you see, Buttercup was not cross. Oh these flies,
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Speaker 3: said Daisy, whisking her tail round and putting it into
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Speaker 3: Buttercup's eye by mistake. Buttercup began to cry and gave
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Speaker 3: her sister a little shove with her new horns, which
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Speaker 3: were just growing. And Daisy fell on her knees in
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Speaker 3: the mud. You nasty little thing, she said, I don't
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Speaker 3: like you any more. Oh yes, you can tell mother
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Speaker 3: if you like. But I shan't get into trouble. I'm
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Speaker 3: going away from this horrid old field. Buttercup ran after
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Speaker 3: her mother, and Daisy got up and tried to wash
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Speaker 3: her knees. Presently, she heard all the others calling her.
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Speaker 3: I shan't go, she said to herself. But when she
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Speaker 3: turned her head a tiny bit and looked out of
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Speaker 3: the corner of her eye so that the others should
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Speaker 3: not see that she was looking, she saw that they
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Speaker 3: were all running as hard as they could towards the
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Speaker 3: gate that led into the road. I'll just go and
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Speaker 3: see what it is, she said, and then I can
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Speaker 3: run away afterwards. But I won't speak to any of them.
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Speaker 3: She hurried across the field, and when she got to
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Speaker 3: the gate, some of the kind cows made room for her,
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Speaker 3: and she looked into the road. There she saw every
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Speaker 3: sort and kind of animal. There was going to be
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Speaker 3: a circus in the town, and all the animals were
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Speaker 3: walking down the road in a procession. First came the elephants,
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Speaker 3: four of them walking two and two with their keepers
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Speaker 3: beside them. Then came two camels, Then a large cage
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Speaker 3: of lions drawn by horses. Then another cage with tigers,
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Speaker 3: and another with wolves in it. Oh, it was going
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Speaker 3: to be a fine circus. Then there were a great
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Speaker 3: many horses ridden by people in beautiful dresses. And last
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Speaker 3: of all came the most wonderful thing of all. It
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Speaker 3: was a bull led by a man dressed like an
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Speaker 3: Indian in gold embroidered satin, who carried a trumpet in
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Speaker 3: his hand, which he blew now and then, after shouting
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Speaker 3: O oar to my lord the sacred bull of Burma,
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Speaker 3: good gracious, said Daisy's mother, Is that a bull? Poor thing?
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Speaker 3: He does look ill and worn like a run in
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Speaker 3: our field for a month or two would set him
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Speaker 3: up forever. Indeed the bull did look rather strange. All
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Speaker 3: his hair had been carefully shaved, leaving him just in
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Speaker 3: his pink skin, and then he had been tattooed, which
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Speaker 3: means that he was covered with a pattern drawn in blue.
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Speaker 3: His horns had been gilded. He gave one look at
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Speaker 3: the cows looking over the gate as the procession turned
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Speaker 3: the corner, and that was the last they saw him.
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Speaker 3: Daisy had quite forgotten her quarrel with Buttercup, and they
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Speaker 3: both walked away from the gate, talking of the wonderful
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Speaker 3: things they had just seen, and especially of the bull.
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Speaker 3: Don't you think, buddy, said Daisy, that we could do
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Speaker 3: something for the bull. He must be dreadfully cold without
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Speaker 3: his proper coat. I feel so sorry for him, so
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Speaker 3: do I said Buttercup. But I don't know what we
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Speaker 3: could do. I shall try and find out where he lives,
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Speaker 3: said Daisy, And then perhaps we could get him away
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Speaker 3: from those people, and he could stop here and live
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Speaker 3: with us. I'm sure he could tell us lovely tales, yes,
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Speaker 3: said Buttercup. But how will you do it? I don't know,
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Speaker 3: said Daisy. I must think so all the afternoon Daisy
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Speaker 3: thought and thought, and when the sun sank down and
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Speaker 3: twilight came, she got through a hole in the hedge
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Speaker 3: and went down the road down which the procession had
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Speaker 3: gone that morning. When she had turned the corner of
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Speaker 3: the road, she saw before her in one of the
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Speaker 3: fields a great white tent with a great many caravans
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Speaker 3: round it. Daisy was a sensible little calf, and she
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Speaker 3: knew at once that this tent must have something to
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Speaker 3: do with the sacred bull. So she walked up to
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Speaker 3: it and looked through a small opening at the side.
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Speaker 3: It was filled with people, and Daisy saw elephants doing
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Speaker 3: tricks in the large ring which was in the middle
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Speaker 3: of the tent. She saw the cages of lions and tigers,
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Speaker 3: but there was no sacred bull. Then Daisy said to herself,
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Speaker 3: he must be outside. That is better because no one
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Speaker 3: will see me speak to him, And she walked away
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Speaker 3: from the tent and sniffed all around the caravans, but
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Speaker 3: she could not find the bull. At last, she saw
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Speaker 3: a little wooden hut on wheels. That must be his house,
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Speaker 3: she said, and hurried up to it. When she got
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Speaker 3: near it, she mooed gently, and the sacred bull put
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Speaker 3: his head out of the hole at one side of
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Speaker 3: his house and answered her. Now, although the bull was
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Speaker 3: a Burmese bull, there is only one language for bulls
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Speaker 3: and cows in all countries, and he understood at once
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Speaker 3: what Daisy had said to him. What is this field
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Speaker 3: you speak of? He said, Why, said Daisy, It's just
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Speaker 3: a field. Don't you know what a field is? This
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Speaker 3: is a field too, But it's not as nice as
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Speaker 3: our field, Say my lord, when you speak to me,
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Speaker 3: said the bull, And bend your knees. All people bow
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Speaker 3: down before me wherever I go. But I'm sure our
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Speaker 3: cows won't be always bending their knees in the field,
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Speaker 3: said Daisy, trying to bend hers as she spoke, and
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Speaker 3: only hurting herself rather badly, besides looking silly. Then I
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Speaker 3: certainly shan't come, said the bull. What do you have
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Speaker 3: to eat there? We eat the flowers and the sweet
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Speaker 3: green grass, my lord, said Daisy, common green grass, shrieked
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Speaker 3: the bull. Why look here? And he took hold of
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Speaker 3: Daisy to make her look into his stall. It was
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Speaker 3: painted in white and gold, and in one corner there
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Speaker 3: was a large shining bowl of polished wood filled with
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Speaker 3: beautiful fresh vegetables. What do you think of that? Said
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Speaker 3: the bull? Go home, little cowlet to your old field.
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Speaker 3: When I go out, people bend their knees before me,
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Speaker 3: and give me sweet things to eat, and make beautiful
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Speaker 3: noises in my honor while you are driven along by
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Speaker 3: a boy with a stick. Ah, it's something to be
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Speaker 3: a sacred bull of Burma, I can tell you. And
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Speaker 3: he put his head back into his doll and would
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Speaker 3: not speak again. Daisy turned away and walked sadly home.
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Speaker 3: She he's all very angry with the bull, and very
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Speaker 3: sorry that she had taken so much trouble for him.
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Speaker 3: When she got home, she told her mother all about it,
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Speaker 3: of course, said her mother never meddle with other people.
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Speaker 3: And my dear little calf, what have you done to
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Speaker 3: your knees? She cried, beginning to like Daisy's knees, for
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Speaker 3: they looked a little sore. Still it was bending them
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Speaker 3: before the sacred bull, said Daisy, sacred bull, indeed sacred
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Speaker 3: cabbage stalks. Lie down and go to sleep, Daisy, and mind,
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Speaker 3: you don't fill your sister's head with any nonsense about
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Speaker 3: sacred bulls. Daisy did as she was told, but just
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Speaker 3: as she was dropping off to sleep, she gave a
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Speaker 3: little shake of joy. Why, she said, I don't mind.
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Speaker 3: I don't believe any calf ever had such an adventure before,
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Speaker 3: and I am sure she was right. End of section.
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Speaker 2: Two Section three of Moo Cow Tales. This is a
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Speaker 2: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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Speaker 2: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Speaker 2: Moo Cow Tales by Rosamund Edith Nesbit Bland. Section three
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Speaker 2: Our Cows Cow Fights. It was our Sussex brown cow
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Speaker 2: who told me all this, so I am sure it
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Speaker 2: is true. If you had ever seen our Sussex brown
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Speaker 2: you would know how very truthful she is. I use
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Speaker 2: sometimes to go to her house and sit by the
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Speaker 2: door in the evening after milking time and listen to
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Speaker 2: the story she would tell me. She knew men any
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Speaker 2: very different stories, but she was most fond of this one.
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Speaker 2: I will tell it to you just as she used
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Speaker 2: to tell it to me, you know, my dear. She
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Speaker 2: would begin. I did not always live on this farm.
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Speaker 2: I used to belong to a very rich farmer who
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Speaker 2: had a large farm in Sussex. I was born and
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Speaker 2: bred in Sussex, the best place for a cow to
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Speaker 2: be born in, I could tell you. And it was
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Speaker 2: only three or four years ago that I came to
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Speaker 2: live here. Well, we used to be driven into one
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Speaker 2: field in the morning and taken back to our houses
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Speaker 2: in the evening. And in that field there was an
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Speaker 2: old black horse. I believe he stayed there night and day,
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Speaker 2: for I never saw him taken into a stable. He
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Speaker 2: was very black and had no doubt been hands in
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Speaker 2: his day, but he was getting very old, although he
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Speaker 2: always pretended to be as young and gay as ever.
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Speaker 2: He would come up to us when we were grazing
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Speaker 2: and start clearing his throat. Did I hear you laugh,
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Speaker 2: my dear, she said, suddenly looking at me rather sadly
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Speaker 2: out of her velty brown eyes. Horses, like men, cleared
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Speaker 2: their throats to draw attention when they are going to speak.
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Speaker 2: What did the horse do when he had cleared his throat,
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Speaker 2: I asked, Oh, he said, excuse me, ladies, But did
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Speaker 2: I ever tell you that I come of a very
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Speaker 2: ancient Spanish stock. Generally we just said yes and went
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Speaker 2: on eating. But it didn't stop his talk. Oh those
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Speaker 2: were good old days. I was ridden by a torriodor.
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Speaker 2: In those days, if there were a calf in the field,
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Speaker 2: the silly little thing would say, what is a torriodor?
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Speaker 2: And that was just what the old horse wanted to be. Asked,
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Speaker 2: a torriodor is a man who fights bulls, he would
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Speaker 2: say proudly. I and my companions used to be ridden
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Speaker 2: by the tooriodors into the arena, which is a large
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Speaker 2: round place like the thing that is called a circus ring.
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Speaker 2: I believe we didn't wear harness as horses do here,
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Speaker 2: but what are torriodors called trappings? And these trappings were
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Speaker 2: made of bright red cloth. Our torreodors were dressed in
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Speaker 2: scarlet too, and carried little pieces of red silk in
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Speaker 2: their hands. Then someone would open a door in the
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Speaker 2: side of the arena and the bull would come in.
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Speaker 2: He was always rather stupid at first, and used to
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Speaker 2: stare about him without seeing anything until the torriodors galloped
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Speaker 2: up with us and shouted and waved their red flags.
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Speaker 2: Then the silly old thing would get angry and try
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Speaker 2: to run his horns into us, but we were always
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Speaker 2: too quick for him at least. Of course, some of
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Speaker 2: the horses used to get hurt sometimes, but I never did.
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Speaker 2: It only needed a little sense to keep out of
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Speaker 2: the way of such a stupid old noodle as a bull,
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Speaker 2: and he always got killed in the end by our
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Speaker 2: brave torreodores. Brave torriodors. Indeed, we used to say very angrily,
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Speaker 2: because of course it was very rude of him to
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Speaker 2: come and talk of our relations the bulls like that. Besides,
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Speaker 2: we never really believed him at all. He only made
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Speaker 2: it up to annoy us. Oh, no, Brownie, I said,
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Speaker 2: there really are bullfights, you know. Nonsense, said Brownie. Don't
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Speaker 2: try to teach me. I know more of the world
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Speaker 2: than you do, and I don't believe it. All right, brownie, dear,
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Speaker 2: I said quickly, you do know ever, so many things.
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Speaker 2: Please go on with the story. Well, perhaps we shouldn't
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Speaker 2: have minded so much if the old horse had only
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Speaker 2: told us this once. But he did it every day,
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Speaker 2: and we got tired of him. So one day before
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Speaker 2: he had come up to us, I said to the others,
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Speaker 2: look here, let's see if he is as brave and
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Speaker 2: as quick at bullfights as he says. We can't give
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Speaker 2: him a bullfight, but we can show him what cows
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Speaker 2: can do. And his bullfights there were always a lot
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Speaker 2: of horses and only one bull. Well, in our cow
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Speaker 2: fight there will be only one horse and a great
21:52
Speaker 2: many cows. Now, all of you, when he comes to
21:57
Speaker 2: speak to us this morning, put down your horns and
22:00
Speaker 2: run at him. Oh Brownie, Brownie, I said, I thought
22:05
Speaker 2: you were always kind and gentle, poor old horse. No,
22:11
Speaker 2: my dear, not poor old horse. We had had quiet
22:16
Speaker 2: enough of that tiresome old creature, and it was time
22:20
Speaker 2: we stopped this nonsense, said Brownie. The others all agreed
22:25
Speaker 2: to do as I had told them, and when the
22:28
Speaker 2: old horse came up to us, we made a dash
22:31
Speaker 2: at him. He was dreadfully frightened and ran away, but
22:35
Speaker 2: we chased him and chased him in wherever he turned
22:38
Speaker 2: he found a cow ready to try and toss him.
22:42
Speaker 2: Of course, we never really touched him, but he was
22:46
Speaker 2: just as frightened as if we had tossed him all
22:49
Speaker 2: to bits. At last he began to beg us to stop,
22:54
Speaker 2: and I said, we will stop if you will promise
22:58
Speaker 2: us something, Oh anything, he said, and sank down on
23:03
Speaker 2: the grass. We all laid down around him and laughed
23:08
Speaker 2: and laughed. Oh dear, oh dear, said our Sussex brown
23:14
Speaker 2: beginning to laugh at the thought of it. Have you
23:16
Speaker 2: ever heard a cow laugh? If ever you do, I
23:19
Speaker 2: am sure you will laugh too, because it is much
23:22
Speaker 2: funnier than most things. At last, Brownie went on. When
23:28
Speaker 2: I had got my breath and was able to stop laughing,
23:31
Speaker 2: I said, you must promise never to talk of bullfights again.
23:37
Speaker 2: We are thoroughly tired of your boasting stories, and we
23:41
Speaker 2: know just how brave you are now. If you can't
23:46
Speaker 2: win a cow fight, I am sure you could never
23:49
Speaker 2: get the better of a bull, I promise, said the
23:54
Speaker 2: old horse. But you ought to have seen our torriodor
23:58
Speaker 2: when the bull was dead. They get up, I called
24:02
Speaker 2: to the others. He is ready for another cow fight.
24:06
Speaker 2: Down with your horns, my friends. No, no, said the
24:11
Speaker 2: old horse. I will never talk about it again, and
24:16
Speaker 2: you never did. But oh, dear, my dear, I wish
24:21
Speaker 2: you could have seen us chasing that horse all round
24:25
Speaker 2: the field. It was so funny, and our Sussex brown
24:30
Speaker 2: began to chuckle and laugh so loudly that she did
24:34
Speaker 2: not answer me. When I said good night and went
24:38
Speaker 2: out of her house, I could hear her still laughing
24:41
Speaker 2: to herself as I went into the farm. End of
24:46
Speaker 2: section three read by Bill Moseley, Lano County, Texas, USA,
24:54
Speaker 2: January eleventh, twenty twenty three.
25:02
Speaker 4: Section four of moo cow Tails. This is a libros
25:06
Speaker 4: according or librox's accordings in the public domain. For more
25:09
Speaker 4: informational to volunteer, please visit libros dot org. Moocowtails by
25:14
Speaker 4: Rosamond Edith nesbit Bland. Pansy's Fortune. I'm not going to
25:21
Speaker 4: stay in this field any longer, said Pansy the spotted
25:25
Speaker 4: cow's old missus Spot her aunts. Nothing ever happens here.
25:29
Speaker 4: It's so dull. I shall go out into the world.
25:32
Speaker 4: Don't talk stuff and nonsense, said missus spot.
25:35
Speaker 2: Whoever heard of.
25:36
Speaker 4: A cow being dull? It's not a cow's business to
25:39
Speaker 4: be anything else. Come now, you're behaving as if you
25:42
Speaker 4: were a young calf. There's a nice patch of buttercups
25:45
Speaker 4: over there. Go and eat them and you'll feel better.
25:47
Speaker 4: It's only the weather that's making you feel like this. Well,
25:51
Speaker 4: Pansy walked away and ate the buttercups, but you didn't
25:54
Speaker 4: feel better. I know I shouldn't, she said to herself.
25:58
Speaker 4: I shall go and seek my fortune.
26:00
Speaker 2: Now.
26:01
Speaker 4: It happened that Jim the stable boy had left the
26:04
Speaker 4: gate of the field open, and Pansy slipped through without
26:06
Speaker 4: anyone seeing her. I can't go alone, she said, I
26:10
Speaker 4: must find some other cow to go with me. She
26:13
Speaker 4: walked down the lane, stopping every now and then to
26:16
Speaker 4: nibble a twig from the hedge. Everything tastes much sweeter
26:19
Speaker 4: out here, she said. I'm glad I came. Presently, she
26:23
Speaker 4: saw some more cows in her field, and she moved
26:26
Speaker 4: to make them look at her. When if you come
26:28
Speaker 4: and seek your fortunes with me, she called. None of
26:31
Speaker 4: them spoke, but a large old cow sitting under the
26:34
Speaker 4: hedge said sharply, cows don't have fortunes, so it's no
26:38
Speaker 4: use seeking them. Pansy was walking away when she heard
26:41
Speaker 4: a soft voice say I will come with you, and
26:44
Speaker 4: looking around, saw a brown cow with short horns following her.
26:48
Speaker 4: She was very glad to have some one to go
26:50
Speaker 4: with her, for, to tell the truth to his feeling
26:52
Speaker 4: a little frightened, and had already begun to want to
26:55
Speaker 4: go back to her own field. What is your name,
26:58
Speaker 4: she asked, ready, said the brown cow. I have lived
27:02
Speaker 4: all my life in that field, and I think I
27:04
Speaker 4: should like to see the world very well. Then follow me,
27:08
Speaker 4: and I will show you many beautiful places, said Pansy proudly.
27:11
Speaker 4: Of course, we know that Pansy had never been out
27:14
Speaker 4: of her field before, but Ready thought she had traveled
27:16
Speaker 4: a great deal, and followed her humbly. Walked a long
27:19
Speaker 4: way down the lane until they came to the cross roads.
27:22
Speaker 4: Which way shall we go, said Pansy. You may choose.
27:26
Speaker 4: Let's go different ways, said Reddy. I don't expect we
27:29
Speaker 4: shall find two fortunes growing on one tree, so'll we
27:32
Speaker 4: better to go different ways. You see, Ready and pans
27:35
Speaker 4: did not know at all what fortunes were. They'd heard
27:38
Speaker 4: of people seeking their fortunes, so they thought they were
27:40
Speaker 4: some special kind of flower or leaf to eat. Pansy's
27:43
Speaker 4: not frightened now, so they agreed to part, and Pansy
27:46
Speaker 4: went down the road to the right. We don't say
27:48
Speaker 4: any more about Reddy in this story. Only I will
27:51
Speaker 4: tell you that she went a little way and then
27:53
Speaker 4: felt lonely, so she turned back and got safely home.
27:56
Speaker 4: But Pansy was braver and went on and on until
27:58
Speaker 4: she came to a wood, the very thing to find
28:01
Speaker 4: a fortune in. She cried in delight and went in.
28:05
Speaker 4: Perhaps you think a cow'd get scratched by the brambles
28:07
Speaker 4: in a wood, because of course, you know how one
28:09
Speaker 4: has to push one's way through a wood sometimes, but
28:12
Speaker 4: the wood was not a very thick one, and Pansy
28:14
Speaker 4: was able to walk through without any trouble. Suddenly, she
28:17
Speaker 4: heard a voice right at her feet say take care, now,
28:20
Speaker 4: take care mind where you're putting your great paws, and
28:24
Speaker 4: looking down, saw a funny little brown person with long
28:27
Speaker 4: ears just beside her front hoofs.
28:30
Speaker 2: Who are you?
28:31
Speaker 4: She asked, rather timidly, because although this creature was so small,
28:34
Speaker 4: it seemed very severe. Fancy having to ask who I am,
28:38
Speaker 4: said the little creature, and sat upon its hind legs proudly.
28:42
Speaker 4: Why I my relations own the whole wood and could
28:45
Speaker 4: turn you out in the bobbing of a tail, Of course,
28:48
Speaker 4: we should have said in the twinkling of an eye.
28:51
Speaker 4: But rabbits, you must have guessed that this little person
28:54
Speaker 4: was a rabbit don't know anything about twinkling eyes, and
28:57
Speaker 4: so they don't talk about them. I won't do any
29:00
Speaker 4: harm to your word, said Pansy. I've only come to
29:03
Speaker 4: look for my fortune. Can you tell me where I
29:05
Speaker 4: could find it? Well there now, said the rabbit, quite kindly.
29:09
Speaker 4: I'm sure I don't know, But if you walk through
29:11
Speaker 4: the gate at the end of the woods, you may
29:13
Speaker 4: find something nice. Many of my relations have been in there,
29:16
Speaker 4: and they say that the most wonderful thing has draw
29:18
Speaker 4: on the other side of the gate. One has to
29:20
Speaker 4: take care not to get caught. Still, you're so much
29:24
Speaker 4: larger than we are that I don't think there is
29:25
Speaker 4: any danger for you. Come. I'll show you the way,
29:29
Speaker 4: but be careful not to step on me. You are
29:31
Speaker 4: a little clumsy about the paws, my dear, but I
29:33
Speaker 4: dare say it's not your fault. The rabbit ran on
29:36
Speaker 4: in front of Pansy until they came to a little
29:38
Speaker 4: wicket gate there, said the rabbit, I quite forgot that
29:42
Speaker 4: you are so big. You see our folk run underneath
29:45
Speaker 4: the gate. But I'm afraid you can't possibly do that.
29:48
Speaker 4: Perhaps I can open it, said Pansy, and pushed against
29:51
Speaker 4: it with her shoulder. It opened with a sharp click
29:54
Speaker 4: and startled little missus Bunny so much that she scuttled
29:56
Speaker 4: back into the wood without once turning round to wave
29:59
Speaker 4: to Pansy. Now, although Pansy did not know it, she
30:03
Speaker 4: had got into a garden, and it happened that on
30:05
Speaker 4: that day, the weather being warm and sunny, lady who
30:08
Speaker 4: lived in the house had told her two little girls
30:10
Speaker 4: that they might have their tea in the garden with
30:12
Speaker 4: their dollies. So when Pansy walked up the path and
30:15
Speaker 4: on to the lawn, she came right into the middle
30:18
Speaker 4: of the doll's tea party. She moved gently, but both
30:21
Speaker 4: little girls jumped up and ran away screaming, which was
30:24
Speaker 4: very silly of them, because of course Pansy did not
30:27
Speaker 4: mean to hurt them. Then Pansy sniffed all round the
30:30
Speaker 4: tea table and ate up the little cakes that were
30:32
Speaker 4: ready for the dolls as tea. She was just wondering
30:35
Speaker 4: whether those cakes were her fortune when she saw two
30:37
Speaker 4: red spiky things coming at her. There were really only
30:40
Speaker 4: two red sunshades, which the little girls were carrying in
30:43
Speaker 4: front of them. For Pansy had never seen anything so
30:46
Speaker 4: dreadful before, and she ran down the path as hard
30:48
Speaker 4: as she could, through the gate into the wood, and
30:50
Speaker 4: through the wood into the lane, never looking back until
30:53
Speaker 4: she reached her own field. It was just milking time
30:56
Speaker 4: and Jim was driving the cows into the farm yard.
30:59
Speaker 4: She had not been as he went past the door
31:02
Speaker 4: of the farmhouse. The farmer's baby, who was sitting on
31:05
Speaker 4: the step, stretched out its arms, turn and screamed, wuffy duff. Oh,
31:09
Speaker 4: said Pansy. After all, it is nice to be called
31:12
Speaker 4: the wuffy duff by that dear baby, and so I'm
31:15
Speaker 4: not very sorry I came home again, even if I
31:17
Speaker 4: haven't got a fortune. End of section four read by
31:22
Speaker 4: inkerl End of Moo cow Tails by Rosamond Edith Nesbit
31:27
Speaker 4: Bland