"When they do, those that are the worst are brought in here to be milked
where there are no flies. The others have big strips of cotton laid over
their backs and tied under them, and the men brush their legs with tansy
tea, or water with a little carbolic acid in it. That keeps the flies
away, and the cows know just as well that it is done for their comfort,
and stand quietly till the milking is over. I must ask John to have
their nightdresses put on sometimes for you to see. Harry calls them
'sheeted ghosts,' and they do look queer enough standing all round the
barnyard robed in white."
* * * * *
CHAPTER XXXI
IN THE COW STABLE
"Isn't it a strange thing," said Miss Laura, "that a little thing like a
fly, can cause so much annoyance to animals as well as to people?
Sometimes when I am trying to get more sleep in the morning, their
little feet tickle me so that I am nearly frantic and have to fly out of
bed."
"You shall have some netting to put over your bed," said Mrs. Wood; "but
suppose, Laura, you had no hands to brush away the flies. Suppose your
whole body was covered with them, and you were tied up somewhere and
could not get loose.
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