III
WORKING FOR A PRIZE
Of course Johnnie Green was very slow the first time he milked the Muley Cow. For a few minutes his father stood beside him and told him a few things that he needed to know. And then Farmer Green went away and left Johnnie to do his best all alone.
"Now's your chance!" the little red cow said to the Muley Cow. "Upset the boy before Farmer Green comes back!"
But the Muley Cow didn't even stop chewing her cud long enough to answer. She looked so mild and contented that no one would have guessed she was wishing more than ever that she had jumped the fence and lost herself in the back pasture. It seemed to her that Johnnie Green never would finish milking her.
"I hope he'll be done with me by dark," she said to herself. "I wouldn't like to lose any of my night's rest."
Yet she never let anybody know that she was impatient. She stood as still as she could, only lifting a foot and stamping now and then when some fly was too bothersome. And she never switched her tail except when a fly gave her an unusually hard bite. To be sure, once she brought the end of her tail smack across Johnnie Green's cheek. But that was a mistake. Though it stung sharply, all Johnnie Green said was, "So, boss! So, boss!"
She was glad when Farmer Green came back at last, peeped into the pail that Johnnie was clutching between his knees, and said, "Well, you haven't done badly. But you'd better let me finish for you."