Somehow his father seemed almost as pleased as he was.
As for the Muley Cow herself, she didn't know just how to feel. She couldn't help hearing what was said. And her neighbors were craning their necks, for they couldn't help staring at her to see how she took the news.
It was just a bit uncomfortable for the Muley Cow, at first. But when Johnnie Green patted her and picked a prickly burr off her back she felt that matters might have been worse. And when he gave her a tender young beet as a special treat she began to think that matters couldn't have been better. She saw right away that being owned by a boy wasn't a bad thing, after all. It was the sound of it that she didn't like.
Naturally there was a good deal of gossip among the cows. And the next day, in the pasture, one meddlesome creature went up to the Muley Cow and asked her what she was going to do about it.
"About what?" the Muley Cow inquired.
"About your being owned by Farmer Green's boy," the other explained. "Are you going to run away?"
Well, the Muley Cow laughed right in her face. It wasn't a thing she was used to doing. But the question seemed to her a very silly one.
"Run away!" she exclaimed. "Why should I run away? I've lived on the farm all my life and I wouldn't leave it for anything."