THE RED COW’S SECRET
Nibble Rabbit was so surprised at Watch’s question that he stopped
eating. And he was eating the delicious meal that Tommy had brought, so
it was a big surprise. For that was just the question he didn’t know how
to answer. He’d hidden the Red Cow himself. She was trusting him. How
could he show where she was when she was specially hiding from Tommy?
“I know,” said Nibble, at last, “but it isn’t fair to tell. Why do you
want her?”
“Why, I want her because we keep our cows in the barn, not in the wet
woods like you silly Wild Things,” Watch answered, smiling. “It doesn’t
matter, anyway. Do you think I can’t go sniffing around and find her for
myself if you won’t tell?” And he ran out a sly, pink tongue.
“Well, she’s all wild and scary, ’specially of Men,” pleaded Nibble.
“You remember how she chased Tommy before. You’d better take him to the
barn first and come back after her alone.” Nibble still had an idea that
Watch herded Tommy Peele the way he did the cows.
“That’s perfectly true, Bunny,” said Watch. And he went bounding off
ahead of his Boy, urging him to hurry as though he had something
particularly interesting to show him. And he had, but he didn’t know it.
As soon as they had finished the meal Tommy had brought them, Doctor
Muskrat went off to sleep on his sun-warmed stone, spread out flat with
his paws hanging over the edges, and Nibble went lipity, lipity up his
tunnel in the thicket to tell the Red Cow Watch was asking for her.
He heard the strangest noises as he came along—but they weren’t sad and
scary. She was talking to someone in a new voice, very soft and gentle,
very loving and happy.
“Who’s there?” Nibble called. “Red Cow, can I come?”
“Come quick, quick!” she lowed. “Isn’t it lovely? That’s why I was
afraid. I came here to hide so that no one could take it away from me.”
Then she added in her new voice that wasn’t meant for Nibble at all,
“Lie still, wee thing.”
Nibble poked his head through the Pickery Things and peeked at her. And
he saw what she was talking about. It was the cunningest little red calf
with a white spot in the middle of its forehead. It had bright black
eyes, wide open, and it perked a pair of wide, round ears at Nibble.
Then it tried to get up on its spindly legs, but they were pretty shaky.
“Does it seem all right?” asked the Red Cow. It was her first calf and
she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
“It seems very queer,” said Nibble honestly. Of course it did to him.
Because baby rabbits are blind and haven’t any fur. “Can’t I call Doctor
Muskrat?” He was wondering, too, whether he oughtn’t to call Watch and
Tommy.
“Yes, go call the doctor,” said the Red Cow.
You just ought to have seen Doctor Muskrat wake up when he heard Nibble
squeal for him so excitedly. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” he called in his
high, thin voice, and he flopped along through Nibble’s tunnel as fast
as ever he could, for his webby paws aren’t meant for running.
“What is it?” he asked. And then he saw the little calf. And it sniffed
its turned-up nose at him with a cunning pink tongue-tip showing. He
walked all around it, inspecting it very carefully. It seemed strange to
him, too, because baby muskrats are born as blind and helpless as baby
rabbits.
“Is there anything the matter with it?” asked the Red Cow, anxiously.
“I think not,” he said, sensibly, “excepting that it’s pretty cold and
shivery. You must lick it hard and get its blood to circulating.”
So she licked it and licked it. And her tongue was very strong and very
gentle, because that’s one of the things all cows’ tongues are made for.
And the baby calf grew livelier and livelier. And pretty soon it got up
on its spindly legs, waving its little tail that was still too new to
have a tassel on it. “Now what’ll I do?” asked the Red Cow.
“Feed it,” advised Doctor Muskrat.
So she did, though it took quite a little coaxing to show the silly baby
how to find what he wanted. But the milk was trickling from the corners
of his little mouth in about three minutes. And then wasn’t he happy?
“Let me say, madam,” began Doctor Muskrat, in his most professional
tone, “that is the most remarkable youngster I have ever attended.” You
see he was only used to bunnies and muskrats and fieldmice.
But the Red Cow heaved a great sigh of pride when she heard that. And
just wasn’t she the happiest cow in the world?
“Nevertheless,” went on the doctor, “this is no place for it. You should
have a nice quiet hole for it. There’s nothing in the woods big enough
for you. I believe the barn is where you ought to be.”
“But they’ll take it away from me?” moaned the Red Cow, getting all
scary again.
“Not if you trust Tommy,” put in Nibble Rabbit, eagerly.
“Madam, if you’ll take an old muskrat’s advice,” said the doctor, “you
will place your confidence in Tommy Peele.” He used those long words
because they sounded wise and important. And the Red Cow was really
impressed.
“All right,” she agreed. And on the word Nibble Rabbit darted out across
the Broad Field and down the Pasture, where he could see Watch and Tommy
Peele.