The Cow (Robert Louis Stevenson)

The friendly cow allred and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all thewinds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.

NOTES:


1. From AChild's Garden of Verses (1885)


2. Most days I drive from Berwyn toBryn Mawr along Darby-Paoli, turning left on Conestoga Road.  On eitherside spread two large cow pastures, which are home to a single herd ofbeautiful black cows.  The cows are either in one pasture or the other --never in both simultaneously.  We have never been able to figure out howthey cross the road and no one has ever been able to explain this phenomenon tous.  Either people are totally uninterested, they are all participating ina conspiracy against my family or, as I actually believe, these are magicalcows.  


3.  Link: ShirleyTemple recites The Cow in Dora's Dunking Donuts (1933)


4.  Paintingsby Thomas Hewes Hinkley, 1869, Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford,Pennsylvania.  


5.  Link: The Cow (PaulBowles)

Saint Namdev, The Emperor And The Cow

  


     Namdev, a great 17thcentury Saint from Maharashtra, India, was a devotee of Lord Pandurang. TheLord helped Saint Namdev in a great many ways due to his intense devotion.Tales of these incidents reached far and wide. His fame finally reached theMughal Emperor in Delhi. The Emperor decided to testNamdev.

          One day, Saint Namdev was teaching some people about God andchanting. The Emperor ordered his men to place a dead cow outside of the placewhere Namdev was teaching. When Namdev heard the commotion, He came outside. Heimmediately felt compassion towards the cow and said that it would come back tolife in a few days. The Emperor watched withinterest.

    Saint Namdev prayed to TheLord and chanted His Name; devoutly calling to God to bring the cow to backlife in a few days. Sure enough, Lord Pandurang appeared in front of Namdev onthe 4th day and revived the cow. Everyone was amazed to see the cow come backto life! The Emperor too, lost his pride and bowed in prayer to The Lord."But," it was asked, "Why did The Lord wait 4 days beforebringing the cow back to life?" Namdev explained, "Godloves His devotee and does what the devotee prays for. Since we asked Him tobring the cow to life in a few days, He came to revive her in 4 days. If we hadprayed to Him to bring the cow back to life at that moment, He would have doneso."

Thomas Hewes Hinkley,Cow, 1869, Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania