The prairie stretches wide under a big blue sky. Maple walks to the barn with her empty bucket.
She scoops sweet hay into her bucket. CRACK goes the gate as she lifts the heavy lid.
Three cows bolt through the broken gate and race toward the golden fields. Maple drops her bucket and runs.
Dad whistles and waves his arms. Mom herds from the west. Maple runs between two cows. 'Hey now, hey now!' she calls.
One cow chews the fence post. Another lies down in the middle of the field. Maple stops and thinks.
She can't chase them. She needs a new plan. Maple turns and runs toward the barn.
Maple grabs the feed bell from the barn wall. She rings it — ding, ding, ding!
The cows lift their heads. They follow the sound and march back toward the pasture together.
The cows settle back into their pasture. Maple wipes her forehead and smiles.
Dad gives Maple a big hug. 'Good thinking, bug.'
That evening, the family sits around the kitchen table with warm bread and cheese.
Maple squeezes her mom's hand. Outside the window, the cows chew happily in the dusk.