the white cow stopped talking quite as though she had finished her story. but nibble rabbit and the red cow, who were listening with all their ears, both broke out: “please, mrs. snowflake, you haven’t said a word yet about the compact!”
“pickery thistles!” she exclaimed. “so i haven’t. i was just thinking about it instead. well, the man was in the middle of that little hollow island with the high rocks all around it, and so were the cows. the dog was growling because he couldn’t kill the cow, and the cow was wondering why the man wouldn’t let him. but most of all she was wondering how quickly she and her calf would starve because that stone blocked up the passage.
“the man was thinking that, too. for the cow had saved his life by keeping out the wolves; that made him in debt to her. and if a man was careless about his debts he was sure to be dreadfully unlucky. either he had to roll away that stone so the cow could go over to the plains to graze—and he knew he couldn’t do that—or he had to bring the grass to her.
“bright and early next morning he went to bring the grass to feed that cow. he found it was lots of trouble, especially since he didn’t have his wife there to help him. so he decided to bring her.
“he told her how nice and safe it was in the middle of that rocky island until she got quite delighted at the idea of living there. so she packed their belongings on her back, slung their baby in front of her, and started out. she waded the stream all right, but she stopped at the big rock which blocked up the passage.
“‘i won’t stay here at all unless you take that out of there,’ she said. ‘it’s too inconvenient.’
“so of course he just had to. and when it comes right down to ‘having to’ a man can do almost anything. but he had a terrible time. he heaved and clawed and shoved and rolled until his fingers and arms were sore. then he picked up a stick, because it was easier to handle—and he learned how to pry that stone out of the passage.
“in walked his wife and began to settle their new home. out walked the cows, and over they went to the plain to pick their own grass, but they left their calves hidden on the island. so, after they had finished feeding, back they came.
“then the man took his stick and pried the rock into the passage again for fear the wolves would come back. and his wife stared at the cows and the cows stared at his wife, but still they didn’t make any compact.”
nibble rabbit and the red cow were both fairly stamping their feet with impatience because the white cow wouldn’t hurry right along with her story. but she brought a big wad of cud all the way up her long neck and stood there chewing it while she thought things over. finally she swallowed it and went on.
“i told you the man learned to use the great stone for a gate to the narrow passageway where the cows squeezed through. but i didn’t tell you how angry the wolves were about that.
“they were simply raging. night after night they gnashed their jaws and howled around those rocks, but their claws wouldn’t climb them. and the man’s dog would sit up on top and shout insults at them. and the two cows would snuggle together in the brush with their calves between them and say, ‘those wolves would have eaten us long ago if the man hadn’t been here.’
“they got very used to the man and his family. they didn’t walk ’way round his fire any more, or make eyes at his wife, and the calves got very friendly with his baby. but his wife used to look hard at them. ‘it’s all very well to take care of the cow who saved your life,’ she’d say to the man, ‘but how about that other one?’
“‘well, what about her?’ he’d answer. ‘she isn’t any trouble.’
“‘she ought to pay for being taken care of,’ insisted his wife. ‘it’s all very well for this year, but next year these calves will be grown up and there will be new ones and we’ll be all cluttered up with cattle.’
“she thought and thought. at last she caught up her biggest clamshell and walked down into the thicket where the cows stood. and the dog went with her. ‘old cow,’ she said, ‘you can live with us for ever and ever because you stopped the passageway with your horns when the wolves were trying to get in to kill my husband. young cow, you will have to pay something if you’re going to live with us.’ and with that she tried to milk the young cow into her clamshell.
“the young cow didn’t like it a little bit. but she was afraid of the dog, and besides the old cow argued, ‘you have milk to spare, and you’ll never have any place as safe as this. let me talk to her.’
“so the young cow gave in and let herself be milked. but the old one said to the woman: ‘we’ll stay with you and give you milk so long as you see we get food and water and protect us from the wolves. but the minute you don’t we’ll go off and be wild again, and you’ll be no better off than you were before.’
“‘agreed,’ said the woman. ‘the dog will be our witness.’
“so that was the beginning of the compact. the cows settled down to live with the man and his family. but after the woman was gone the wise old cow said comfortably, ‘it’s spring now. she doesn’t think how much trouble it will be to feed us through the winter.’”
“wasn’t that old cow clever!” exclaimed nibble admiringly.
the white cow snorted. “she was wise. but that woman was wiser. she knew that if she waited long enough there would be cattle on that island who hadn’t any milk, so she and the man could bargain some more with them. they had to carry loads and pull ploughs; they even had to let the man kill certain ones. they didn’t like that a little bit, but the wise old cow argued, ‘it’s better than being hunted by both wolves and men.’ so they finally gave in. it was really a good bargain for us,” finished the white cow thoughtfully, “but it was a better one for the man. after he learned to build barns as safe as that island he gave up hunting.”
