The Cow

The friendly cow all red 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 the winds that pass And wet with all the showers, She walks among the meadow grass And eats the meadow flowers.

From The Cow by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885). Public domain.

Check your understanding

1. What does the friendly cow give the speaker?

Apple-tartCreamFlowers

2. Where does the cow walk?

In the meadow grassIn a red barnIn the apple trees

3. How does the speaker feel about the cow?

4. What does the poem mean when it says the cow is wet with all the showers?