“‘Well,’ says the little chap in the acorn, ‘when she goes to the spring for to fetch a bucket of water, put me in your pocket an’ climb down from here. Then go up the road a piece, an’ there you’ll see a red cow a-grazin’. Walk right up to her, slap her on the back, an’ say, “Ningapie wants you.” Fetch her home an’ tell your stepmammy that a stranger told you that you might have her ef you’d go an’ git her.’
“Shore enough, ’twan’t long before Mis. Chambliss come out’n the house an’ started to the spring for to git a bucket of water. She had done took an’ pulled off her Sunday-go-to-meetin’ duds, an’ she looked mighty scrawny in her calico frock. Time she got out’n sight Johnny put the acorn in his pocket an’ scrambled down to the groun’, an’ then he split off up the road ez hard ez ever he could go. He didn’t go so mighty fur before he seed a red cow feedin’ by the side of the road, an’ she wuz a fine cow, too, ez fat ez a butter-ball, an’ lookin’ like she mought be able for to give four gallons of milk a day an’ leave some over for the calf wharsoever the calf mought be. When she seed Johnny walkin’ right to’rds her, she raised her head an’ sorter blowed like cow creeturs will do, but she stood stock still tell Johnny come up an’ patted her on the back an’ says:
“‘Ningapie wants you.’
“Then she shook her head an’ trotted along at Johnny’s heels, an’ Johnny marched down the road a-swellin’ up wi’ pride tell he like to bust the buttons off’n his coat. When he got home his stepmammy wuz a-stan’in’ at the gate a-waitin’ for him wi’ a hickory, but when she seed the cow a-followin’ long behine him, she took an’ forgot all about the whippin’ she’d laid up.
“‘Why, Johnny!’ say she, ’whar in the wide world did you git sech a be-u-tiful cow?’”
In his effort to mimic a woman’s voice, Mr. Wall screwed up his mouth and twisted it around to such an alarming extent that Joe Maxwell thought for an instant the old man was going to have a spasm. The lad laughed so heartily when he found out his mistake that Mr. Wall repeated his effort at mimicking.
“‘Why, Johnny,’ say she, ‘whar in the wide world did you git sech a be-u-tiful cow?’
“Johnny, he up an’ tol’ his stepmammy what Ningapie tol’ ’im to say, an’ the ole’oman, she wuz e’en about ez proud ez Johnny wuz. She patted the cow on the back, an’ muched her up might’ly, an’ then she took her in the lot an’ got ready fer to milk her. Johnny felt the acorn a-jumpin’ about in his pocket, an’ he took it out an’ helt it up to his ear.
“‘Watch her when she goes to milk,’ says Ningapie.
“Johnny clumb the fence an’ waited. Thess ’bout the time his stepmammy begun fer to milk the cow good, a little black dog come a-rushin’ ’roun’ the yard a-barkin’ fit to kill. Time she heard ’im, the cow give a jump an’ come mighty nigh knockin’ ole Mis. Chambliss over. Time everything got quiet, here come a big pack of dogs a-chargin’ ’roun’ the lot-palin’s in full cry, an’ it look like to Johnny that the cow would shorely have a fit.