“Speak for yourself,” said Mrs. Meadows; “or, if you want to, you can tell the rest of the story yourself. No doubt you can tell it a great deal better than I can.”
“Now you’ll have to excuse me,” remarked Mr. Rabbit. “I thought maybe you were getting tired, and wanted to rest. Go on with the tale. I’m getting old and trembly in the limbs, but I can stand it if the rest can.”
“Well,” said Mrs. Meadows, turning to Buster John and Sweetest Susan, “the children were very much worried over the loss of the coal-black sheep and the snow-white goat, and they made up their minds to try and get them back. The boy said he would go and ask Uncle Rain’s advice, and the girl said she would visit Brother Drouth once more. So they started on their journey, one going east and the other going south.
“They met with no adventure by the way, and, having traveled the road once, they were not long in coming to the end of their journey. The boy found Uncle Rain at home, and told him all about the loss of his beautiful black sheep. Uncle Rain grunted at the news, and looked very solemn.
“‘That’s about the way I thought it would be,’ said he. ‘It takes a mighty strong-minded person to stand prosperity. But you needn’t be afraid. Your sheep is not lost. The men who have stolen him can stand great prosperity no better than your father can. They will wrangle among themselves, and they will never take the sheep away from the tavern. But they shall be punished. Come with me.’
“Uncle Rain went out into his barnyard, and the boy followed him. He went to a stall where a black cow was tied. ‘This,’ said he, ‘is the butting cow. You are to take her with you. She will allow no one to come near her but you, and when you give her the word she will run over and knock down whoever and whatever is in sight. She knows the black sheep, too, for they have long been in the barn together. When she begins to low, the black sheep will bleat, and in that way you may know when you have found it. More than that, the cow will give you the most beautiful golden butter that ever was seen.’
“Uncle Rain untied the cow, placed the end of the rope in the boy’s hand, and bade him good-by. The boy went back the way he came, the cow following closely and seeming to be eager to go with him.
“The girl, who had taken the road to Brother Drouth’s house, arrived there safely and told her trouble. Brother Drouth said he was very sorry about it, but as it was not a thing to weep over, he didn’t propose to shed any tears.
“‘What’s done,’ he said, ‘can’t be undone; but I’ll see that it’s not done over again.’ He went to a corner of the room, picked up a walking-stick, and gave it to the little girl. ‘We have here,’ he said, ‘a walking-stick. It is called the hitting stick. Whenever you are in danger, or whenever you want to punish your enemies, you have only to say: “Hit, stick! Stick, hit!” and neither one man nor a hundred can stand up against it. It is not too heavy for you to carry, but if your hands grow tired of carrying it, just say, “Jump, stick!” and the stick will jump along before you or by your side, just as you please.’
“Then Brother Drouth bade the girl good-by; and she went on her way, sometimes carrying the hitting stick, and sometimes making it jump along the road before her.