"Miss Cow Falls Victim to Brer Rabbit"After Brer Rabbit got out of the hollow tree, (in sequence, this story follows "Brer Fox is Outdone by Brer Buzzard") he went skipping along home just as sassy as a jaybird. He went galloping along, but he felt mighty tired out and stiff in his joints. He was also dying of thirst, so, when he was almost home and saw old Miss Cow grazing along in a field, he decided to try his hand with her. Brer Rabbit knew that Miss Cow would never give him milk, because she'd refused him more than once, even when Mrs. Rabbit was sick. But never mind; he was determined to try. Brer Rabbit danced up alongside the fence and hollered out, "Howdy, Sis Cow!" "Why, howdy, Brer Rabbit." "How do you feel these days, Sis Cow?" "I'm doing so-so, Brer Rabbit. How are you doing?" "Oh, I'm just so-so myself, sort of lingering between half-sick and half-dead," he said. "How your folks, Brer Rabbit?" "They're just middling, Sis Cow. How's Brer Bull getting on?" "Sort of middling," said Sis Cow." "There are some mighty nice persimmons up this tree, Sis Cow," said Brer Rabbit, "and I'd like mighty well to have some of them." "How are you going to get them Brer Rabbit?" she asked. "I thought maybe that I might ask you to butt against the tree, and shake some down, ," said Brer Rabbit. Of course, Miss Cow didn't want to make things hard for Brer Rabbit, I can't climb, Sis Cow," said Brer Rabbit, "but I'll run and tell Brer Bull."
With that, Brer Rabbit put out for home, and it wasn't long before he came back with his wife and all the children, each one carrying a pail. The big ones had big pails, and the little ones had little pails, and they all surrounded old Miss Cow and milked her dry. The old ones milked and the young ones milked, and then, when they'd got enough, Brer Rabbit went up to her and said, "I wish you mighty well, Sis Cow. I figured that, since you'd likely have to camp out all night, I'd better come and milk you so you wouldn't get too full and hurt." Then Brer Rabbit and Mrs. Rabbit and all the little Rabbits ran down the hill with the milk buckets, as pleased as pigs in a peanut patch. Miss Cow stood there and thought and thought. She tried to break loose, but her horn was jammed in the tree so tight that it took most of the night for her to loosen it. After she got loose, she grazed around, filling her stomach. She figured that, before too long, Brer Rabbit would be hopping along to see how she was getting on, so she laid a trap for him. Just about sunrise, what did old Miss Cow do but march up to the persimmon tree and stick her horn back in the hole. But Brer Rabbit was ahead of her. While she was cropping the grass, he crept back, and when she hitched on to the persimmon tree again, there he was, sitting on the fence corner where she couldn't see him watching her. Brer Rabbit said to himself, "Heyo, what's going on now? Hold your horses, Sis Cow, until you hear me coming." He crept down from the fence and presently he came--lippity-clippity, clippity-lippity--just sailing down the main road. "Morning, Sis Cow," said Brer Rabbit. "How are you this morning?" "Poorly, Brer Rabbit, poorly," said Miss Cow. "I haven't had any rest all night. I can't pull loose, but if you'll come and catch hold of my tail and pull, Brer Rabbit, I think maybe I can get my horn out." Then Brer Rabbit came up a little closer, but not too close.
"Heyo, Sis Cow! Where you going?" cried Brer Rabbit. "Howdy there, Brer Big-Eyes," said Miss Cow. "Have you seen Brer Rabbit go by?" "He just this minute passed," said Brer Rabbit, and he looked almighty sick."
And with that, Miss Cow ran on down the road like the dogs were after her, and Brer Rabbit just lay there in the brier patch, rolling and laughing till his sides hurt. He sure was pleased to laugh; Brer Fox was after him, Brer Buzzard was after him, and now Miss Cow was after him, but they hadn't caught him yet! |
so she marched up to the persimmon tree and hit it a rap with her horns-BLAM! Now, those persimmons were green as grass, and not a one dropped. So Miss Cow butted the tree again-BLIM! But no persimmons dropped. Then, Miss Cow backed off a little further, hoisted her tail on her back, and came against the tree-KERBLAM! She came so fast and she came so hard that one of her horns went right through the tree, and there she was! She couldn't go forward and she couldn't go backward. 
"I expect I'm near enough, Sis Cow," said he. "I'm a mighty puny hare, and I might get trompled. You do the pulling, Sis Cow, and I'll do the grunting."