Part 17

8. When cattle stand in the shade chewing their cud, there is no other animal that looks so mild, and pleasant, and happy.

9. The cow is very fond of her calf, and licks it over several times a day. If anybody hurts the calf, he must look out for the old cow’s horns.

10. I have heard of a little lamb that had lost its mother, and was put into a lot with six cows. After a time he was taken out and put with the other sheep. But they all fought him, and he was sent back to his old pasture.

11. The cows all rushed up to meet him, and he ran to each in turn. Then one cow licked him all over, and he was passed to the next, and so on until all had done the same thing.

LESSON XXXIII.

WHAT CATTLE ARE GOOD FOR.

1. Cattle do not hunt rats and mice like the cat, nor watch like the dog, nor do we ride them as we do a horse or a donkey; but in some ways they are more useful to us than any of the others.

2. When Johnny sat down to breakfast this morning, a cow gave him that bowl of fresh, rich milk, which he ate with his bread. Then, when we drank the nice cup of coffee that mamma had made, the cow gave us the cream which we put into it.

3. When the dinner was put up for school, the cow gave the cheese and the butter that was spread upon the bread. In the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating the curds and whey” which the old cow gave her.

4. This morning Johnny’s hair was in a snarl, and mamma got it out with the help of the old cow, who gave the horn to make the comb.

5. When we go out in wet weather, the cow gives her hide to be made into the leather out of which our coarse boots are made; and the calf gives its hide for our fine boots and shoes.

6. When our new room was plastered, a little while ago, the cow gave the hair to mix with the mortar, so that the plaster would stick together and stay on the wall.

7. Before we get our chairs and tables, the cow takes off her hoofs and gives us the glue with which they are put together. Then Santa Claus could not bring Johnny his white-handled knife till the old cow had given a bone for the handle.

8. “Sleepy-head goes to bed” at night, and the candle he carries is another present from the old cow. The flesh of grown cattle that we eat we call beef, and the flesh of calves, veal.

LESSON XXXIV.

HOW THE SHEEP LOOKS AND LIVES.

1. We will now take a look at our friend, the sheep. See it stand there, looking so kind, and harmless, and innocent!

2. The sheep is much smaller than a cow, and in size is like a large dog. Its nose is more pointed, and its ears are smaller, than those of a cow. It has small, cloven hoofs, and it eats grass and chews its cud in the same way that a cow does.

3. Its jaws are like those of a cow, with no teeth in its upper jaw in front, and with broad, flat chewing teeth back. Like a cow, it feeds upon grass in the summer, and upon hay and grain in the winter.

4. The rams have large horns that twist about in a very curious way. Lambs are playful, like kittens, and they hop and frisk about, and they sometimes have great games with old Rover or with the cat.

5. Sheep are covered with a thick coat of wool, and this keeps them warm, so that they can live out-of-doors in the coldest weather. In summer their “fleece” of wool is sheared off. The wool is made into cloth, and the cloth is made up into clothes for folks to wear, so that the coat of a sheep makes the coat for a boy.

6. Besides our clothes and blankets, the sheep gives us fine, thin leather to bind books and make gloves, and tallow to make candles and soap. The flesh of sheep, which we eat, is called mutton.

LESSON XXXV.

THE WAYS OF THE SHEEP.

1. Sheep appear very helpless, but when they run wild they know how to take care of themselves very well.

2. They butt with their heads, and the large, old rams will run very fast, and strike a fearful blow.

3. When a flock of wild sheep is feeding, one is placed at some distance out on each side, to keep watch.

4. If an enemy is seen, the guards give a kind of whistle, and the whole flock scuds away to the rocks on the mountain.