The Little Cow Who Lost Her Moo – Read and Print

By Rachel Dunstan Muller, copyright 2019

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Have you ever been to a farm? Well, this is a story about a farm and the young cow who lived on that farm. Her name was Gloria, and she was the only cow on that farm. There were chickens and ducks, sheep and goats, a donkey and an old hound dog – but Gloria was the only cow.

One day, one of the hens decided to start a barnyard choir. “Come along, come along,” she said. “Everyone gather together. When I point my wing, it’s your turn to sing.”

She pointed at the other hens. And what did they sing? “BOK-bok-bok-BOK”

She pointed at the ducks. And what did they sing? “QUACK-quack-quack-QUACK!”

She pointed at the sheep. And what did they sing? “BAA-BAA!”

She pointed at the goats. And what did they sing? “MAA-MAA!”

She pointed at the donkey. And what did the donkey sing? “Hee-haw, Hee-haw!”

She pointed at the old hound dog. And what did he sing? “WOO, WOO.”

And then she pointed at Gloria. And what did Gloria sing? “Meow, meow.”

“Stop, stop!” said the hen. “That’s not what a cow says! Let’s try that again, from the top.”

She pointed at the chickens and they sang, “BOK-bok-bok-BOK”

She pointed at the ducks and they sang, “QUACK-quack-quack-QUACK!”

She pointed at the sheep, and they sang, “BAA-BAA!”

She pointed at the goats and they sang, “MAA-MAA!”

She pointed at the donkey and the donkey sang, “Hee-haw, Hee-haw!”

She pointed at the old hound dog, and he sang, “WOO, WOO.”

And then she pointed at Gloria. “Meow, meow,” said the little cow.

“No, no, no,” said the hen. “This won’t do.”

They tried all day long, but it was no use. Poor Gloria had lost her moo, and there were no other cows on the farm to help her find it again.

The sun went down and the sky got dark. All the other animals went back to their stalls and their pens and their kennels to eat their supper. But the little hen – she wasn’t giving up. She was determined to help Gloria find her moo again.

“Look up in the sky,” the hen pointed. “What do you see?”

“You mean those tall treetops?” said Gloria.

“No, no, no, ” said the hen. “That bright thing.”

“You mean, the stars?” said Gloria.

“No, no, no,” said the hen. I mean that thing that’s big and round, like a silver ball.”

“Oh,” said Gloria. “You mean the moon.”

“That’s it!” said the hen. “Say it again!”

“Mo-o-on, m-o-o-n!”

“You’ve got it!” said the hen. “You’ve got your moo back!”

And it was true. The next day when the animals gathered together for choir practice:

The chickens sang, “BOK-bok-bok-BOK!”

And the ducks sang, “QUACK-quack-quack-QUACK!”

And the sheep sang, “BAA-BAA!”

And the goats sang, “MAA-MAA!”

And the donkey sang, “Hee-haw, Hee-haw!”

And the old hound dog sang, “WOOO, WOOO.”

And Gloria sang, “Moo, moo!”

And all the animals were very proud. It was the best barnyard choir ever.

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