This was so unexpected to Norma, that when she saw the big eyes and lolling tongue of the cow staring her right in the face, she dropped the pan and screamed. At the same time she tried to spring backwards out of Sue’s reach, but stumbled over a board and measured her length on the ground.
The switch of the tail, the banging of the tin pan, the scream of Norma, all made Belle jump but she was squatting on her heels and could not balance, so she went right over backwards. Janet leaned over the fence of the pig pen and fairly screamed with mirth at the sight of her two friends stretched out on the barn yard ground.
But Farmer Ames had sent Sam to the barn to get an extra pickaxe and he now arrived in time to see the trouble Belle was having in trying to milk the cow. So he sat down and in a few minutes the stream of milk was flowing freely and the horse fly flew away to find a better resting place without so many disturbing mortals always about.
“Now, then,” said Sam, when he had finished the task. “You gals can lead her to pasture in the field, but be careful and not tether her near them beehives, or she’ll get stung and run away again like she did afore.”
With Sue secured in the pasture lot, Norma and Belle felt that the hardest work of the day was finished. So they walked back to the house eagerly planning for the water garden. They went in at the side door of the porch, to get their sun bonnets, but Norma heard Frances call out as she drove the car past the door:
“I’ve left the lawn mower out here for you, Norma! Jimmy said you were to try and see if you can cut the lawn with it.”
“Dear me! I forgot all about the old grass! I suppose that will take all day, now!” exclaimed Norma impatiently.
But Belle had no condolences to offer, so Norma went through the kitchen and flew down the stoop steps to look for the new mower—she called it “that old mower!”
Frances had left it on the gravel path just around the corner of the house, and Norma, in hurrying along this path, ran into it and stubbed her toe against the wheel.
“Ouch! Who left this old machine right in my way?” she demanded angrily as she limped over to the porch and sat on the lower step to hold her foot and rock back and forth.