The Magpie and the Milk

It is a beautiful sunny day on the farm. The farmer looks in her bucket and sees nice, warm milk. She smiles and says, "Thank you, Cow. With this milk, I can make some cheese. But first I need to make a fire." The cow is calm in the field, and the farmer is happy with the milk. Everything is quiet until a magpie flies down from the sky. The bird looks at the milk with big eyes. He wants it very much. The story begins with this small but important moment.

The magpie sees the warm milk in the bucket. "Mmm, warm milk!" he says, and he flies down quickly. He sits on the edge of the bucket, but the bucket falls over. The milk goes everywhere on the ground. "Oh no!" cries the magpie. The farmer is very angry. "Bad magpie!" she says, and she catches his tail. The magpie pulls and pulls, but suddenly his tail comes off! The farmer keeps the tail in her hand. The bird is shocked and very sad. He wants his tail back, but the farmer wants something first.

The magpie cries, "Farmer, Farmer! Please give me my tail." The farmer answers, "Bring me some nice, warm milk, and then you can have your tail again." So, the magpie flies to the cow. "Cow, Cow, please give me some milk for the farmer," he says. But the cow shakes her head. "Bring me some long, green grass first, and then you can have some milk." The magpie is tired, but he goes to the field. "Field, Field, please give me some long, green grass for the cow," he says. "Bring me some nice, cool water," the field replies.

The magpie flies to the river. "River, River, please give me some nice, cool water for the field. Then the cow can have her grass. The farmer can have her milk. And I can have my tail!" The river says, "Bring me some rain from the mountains." So the magpie flies high into the mountains. He sees a big white cloud. "Cloud, Cloud, please give me some rain for the river," he says. The cloud smiles, "I can help you, Magpie." Soon, the rain falls down on the mountains. The water runs into the river, and the river is happy again.

The magpie thanks the cloud and takes the rain to the river. The river gives him water. He takes the water to the field. The field gives him grass. He takes the grass to the cow. The cow gives him milk. At last, the magpie flies back to the farmer. "Farmer, Farmer, here is your milk. Now can I have my tail?" "Yes, Magpie," says the farmer. "Here it is!" She puts the tail back on, and the bird is very happy. He flies up into the sky again. The farmer smiles, "Now I can make my cheese." The story ends with everyone satisfied.