222 Trails to Woods and Waters 



feeding, as though her thoughts were upon 

 anything but calves. 



I spent several days watching and spying 

 upon her, but with no success. As long as 

 I was in sight she would eat grass or lie in the 

 shade and chew her cud, but as soon as I got 

 interested in a bird's nest, or a berry patch she 

 was gone, and I would see no more of her that 

 day. We tried taking a dog into the pasture 

 in hopes of frightening her into fleeing to her 

 bossy, but the experiment was a failure. 



The sight of the dog seemed to drive the 

 young cow almost frantic and to fill her with 

 blind, unreasonable rage. She charged the 

 poor dog, who was innocent of any evil to- 

 wards her, again and again, until at last the 

 bewildered canine stuck his tail between his 

 legs and ran out of the pasture. Then she 

 turned upon Ben and me. 



Ben took refuge in a thicket, so she left 

 him, and came for me. At first I thought I 

 was not afraid of the speckled heifer; was she 

 not my own bossy and had I not petted her 

 ever since the day she was born? I called 



