"There they stood in a row, sleek as if they had been curried—and I have heard that she did curry them herself—all switching natural tails except one. And, as sure as you live, that cow had a false tail that Mrs. Gunning had made for her!
She took hold of it and showed it to us. It did not seem very funny to Dr. McCurdy, but he had to listen to what she said.
"Spotty was a fine cow, but by some accident she had lost her tail, and I got her cheaper on that account," says Mrs. Gunning. "You don't know how distressing it was to see her switching a stump. So I made her a tail of whalebone and India-rubber and yarn. I knit it myself."
The poor fellow looked up at the fort and said: "Yes. It is very interesting, Mrs. Gunning."
"I am aware," says she, "that the expedient was never hit upon before. But Spotty's brush is a great success. It used to make me unhappy to think of leaving this post. All the other cows might find good homes with new owners; but who would care for Spotty? Since I have supplied her deficiency, however, and know that the supply can constantly be renewed, my mind is easy about her. If you ever have to knit a cow's tail, doctor, remember the foundations are whalebone and India-rubber; and I would advise you to use the coarsest yarn you can find for the brush."
"I will, Mrs. Gunning," he says, like a man who wanted to lie down in the straw and die."
A British Islander by Mary Hartwell Catherwood
(cow mask courtesy Patrice at Agence Eureka)
1 comment:
That's hilarious. As my brother said once, "One must be discerning when one is completely insane."
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