THE RED COW 



out he takes a trip around the farm, apparently to 

 see that everything is right. When the chores are 

 being attended to he is always on hand to help drive 

 the cows and after the calves have been fed he 

 doesn't have to be told to drive them away from the 

 fence and scatter them over the field. As soon as 

 the last of them has bunted over the pail from which 

 it has been fed he starts them on their way. All 

 day he is around to do his part in whatever is to be 

 done and when the driver is away he watches till she 

 is coming back and goes down the road to meet her. 

 Just how he knows when she is coming is something 

 of a mystery. Long before any one else can see her 

 behind the trees half a mile down the road, Sheppy 

 will trot off to meet her. And he never makes a mis- 

 take about it. When we see him starting for the cor- 

 ner we can be sure that the driver is coming. But 

 there is one bit of his daily routine that is something 

 of a mystery to me. I do not need him and I have 

 nothing for him to do when I go after the mail when 

 the postman has put it in the box, but every morn- 

 ing he is waiting for me and marches to the mail box 

 ahead of me. I cannot make out why he does it 

 unless he is hoping that some day he will get a 

 letter — a letter with a bone in it. 



226 



