The Black Cow

A Twm Sion Catti  Story

Retold by

Jonathan Shipton

One day Twm got on his horse and rode into town.

On the way he met an old man with a black cow.

The old man and the black cow were walking very slowly.

The old man looked  tired.

'Are you going to market ?' asked Twm.

'Yes I am .' said the old man.

'That's a fine cow' said Twm.

'Yes she is ' said the old man sadly.

'She is my best cow but I have to sell her because I have no money '.

'I will help you.' said Twm.

'I will help you get to the market and I will help you get the best price for your cow.'

Twm lifted the old man up onto his horse.

Then he led the black cow to the market.

The market was very busy.

There were people selling hot pies.

There were people selling boots and saddles

There were lots of cows and pigs and sheep.

But not one of them was as good as the old man's cow.

Tom and the old man led the black cow to a stall .

They gave her some hay

They brushed and brushed her coat until it glowed.

Then they waited for someone to buy her.

A  farmer walked over to look at the cow.

Now Twm knew this farmer.

He had a lot of land.

And a lot of cows.

And he was very rich .

But he was very very mean.

Twm warned the old man to be careful.

'Is this a good cow ?' the farmer asked the old man.

'Yes she is' said the old man.

'She's my best cow. She gives lots of  creamy milk.'

'How much do you want for her?' asked the farmer.

'£10.' said  the old man.

'Oh No!  no! no! no! no!' said the farmer 'That's far too much for me!'

And the rich farmer shook his head and walked away.

'Don't worry, ' said Twm. 'He'll be back.'

Now the rich farmer walked all round the market .

He looked in all the stalls at all the cows and sheep and pigs.

He could see that the black cow was the best looking animal in the market.

He wanted that cow very much.

But  he didn't want to pay £10!

He thought that if he waited for a while the old man would have to bring the price down.

He waited all day.

He waited until it was nearly dark and all the other cows and sheep and pigs had been sold.

Then he went back to the old man.

'How much is your cow now?'

'Still £10.' said the old man. 'She is worth every penny.'

'O no! no! no! no! no! ' said the rich farmer. '£10 is far too much. I will give you £5 ! Take it or leave it!'

The old man didn't know what to do.

He knew that the rich farmer was trying to cheat him.

But he had to sell the cow.

So the old man took the £5 and the rich farmer went off with the cow.

The rich farmer was very pleased with his new cow.

The old man was very sad.

When he saw Twm he told him what had happened.

'Don't worry.' said Twm. ' The farmer will give you the rest of your  money tomorrow. '

Later that night Twm walked out of  town to where the mean farmer lived.

He found the old man's cow in a field .

He waited till the farmer had gone to bed and then he led the cow back to the market and put it in the stall.

Next he found a bucket of white paint and dipped the end of the cow's tail in the bucket.

Then Twm and the old man and the cow curled up in the hay and went to sleep.

The next day the mean farmer came back to the market hoping to buy some more cows .  He walked round the stalls looking at all the different animals and was very surprised to see Twm and the old man again.

 He was even more surprised to see that the old man had another black cow to sell!

He went up to the old man.

'This cow looks exactly like the other one!' said the farmer.

'Yes she is,' agreed the old man. 'She is exactly the same, except for the white mark on her tail.'

'And  does she give as much milk?' asked the greedy farmer?

'Of course she does.' said the old man.

'She gives exactly the same amount of good creamy milk.'

'And how much is she?' asked the greedy farmer.

'£10 ,' said the old man.

' No! no! no!  no! ' replied the cunning farmer.

'If this cow is exactly the same as the other one, I will give you exactly the same amount of money!'

And so saying he gave the old man £5.

'Thank you .' said the old man .

'Thank you very much!'

He put the £5 in his pocket.

Then Twm and the old man patted the cow goodbye

And walked away with great big smiles on their faces.

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