CHAPTER VI
THE CLEVERNESS OF CHIRP SPARROW
Watch must have kept his word about sending the cows to talk to Nibble Rabbit. For the first thing they did when the barn door was opened was to come trooping up to his cage. And an old White Cow put her big starey eye right up close to it, because she’s very near-sighted, and sniffed. Nibble’s fur blew as hard as it did the time of the terrible storm. But her breath was all warm and sweet with clover, so he wasn’t afraid, though she was three times as big as the dog.
The very first thing the White Cow said was: “Why don’t you eat your breakfast?”
“I can’t. I’m all cramped up in this cage,” answered Nibble.
The White Cow makes friends with Nibble.
“He’s too much afraid of being eaten,” laughed Chirp Sparrow, and he perched right on the White Cow’s horn.
“Why, there’s no one going to hurt him,” drawled the Cow in a surprised tone.
“There was Ouphe the Rat last night. Nibble felt pretty trembly about him.”
“Ouphe! The disgusting thing. He came in and messed up our feed and danced over us with his pricky feet so we couldn’t sleep. I just called Watch,” mooed the White Cow in her nice fluty voice. It reminded Nibble of the South Wind.