On a little farm lived a cow named Bessie and all her animal friends. In one week, the farm would hold its grand annual ball, and everyone was already very excited. Penny Pig polished her hooves, Henrietta Hen smoothed her feathers, Woolly Sheep brushed her wool, and Harry Horse practiced his dance steps. Everyone wanted to look their very best at the ball. And of course, Bessie did too.
One morning, Bessie climbed aboard a bus and rode into town. Her friend Gracie Goose owned a clothing shop there, filled with dresses, hats, bows, and shiny shoes. "Welcome, Bessie!" Gracie honked. "We are going to find you the prettiest dress at the whole ball!"
First, Bessie tried on a green dress. She turned one way in front of the mirror, then the other. "It is pretty," she said, "but it is not quite the right one."
Next, Bessie tried on a yellow dress with a big bow. But while she was changing, her tail kept getting caught in the ribbons. It snagged on a button, tangled in the bow, and finally knocked a little hat off the table. "Oh, that silly tail of mine!" Bessie laughed.
On this magical farm, the animals could unclip their tails for a little while when they were getting dressed. So Bessie took off her tail and hung it on a hook inside the fitting room. Right away, trying on dresses became much easier. Bessie turned this way and that in front of the mirror, and the yellow dress twirled beautifully around her. "Bessie, you look fantastic!" said Gracie.
Bessie admired herself in the mirror and smiled. "I will take this one!"
She paid for the dress, said goodbye to Gracie, and boarded the bus back to the farm. But something long, soft, and very important was still hanging on the hook in the fitting room: Bessie’s tail.
When Bessie got home, she ate her supper, drank some water, and carefully brushed her little teeth. Scrub, scrub, scrub! Then she climbed into her little bed, pulled up her blanket woven from soft spring grass, and soon fell fast asleep. The next morning, Bessie woke to the most annoying sound she knew. "Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz!" A mosquito was circling her head.
"Moooo!" cried Bessie. She tried to swat the mosquito with her tail. After all, cows use their tails to chase away flies, mosquitoes, and other bothersome bugs from their backs, sides, and hind legs. Bessie wiggled her bottom. Nothing happened. She wiggled even harder. Still nothing. "Bzzz!" Nibble! Another mosquito bit her on the ear.
"Ouch! Moooo!" Bessie cried. She looked behind her, and her eyes grew wide. "I do not have a tail! Where is my tail?"
She mooed so loudly that she woke every animal on the farm. Penny hurried out of her pigsty, Henrietta fluttered out of the henhouse, Woolly ran over from the meadow, and Harry galloped out of the stable. "Oink! Bessie, what happened?" asked Penny Pig. "My tail is gone!" Bessie sobbed. "I do not know where I left it. And without it, I cannot chase away the mosquitoes."
Penny thought for a moment. "That is all right. You can borrow mine!" She handed Bessie her tiny pink curly tail.
Bessie clipped it on and gave it a wiggle. Boing, boing! She wiggled even harder. Boing! The little tail curled and bounced merrily, but it was so short that it could not even reach Bessie’s back. A mosquito calmly landed on her side. "Bzzz!" Nibble! "Ouch!" cried Bessie. "Your tail is very pretty, Penny, but it is much too short." "Oink, oink. That is true," Penny agreed.
Next, Henrietta Hen stepped forward. "Cluck, cluck! Try my tail. It is big, fluffy, and full of feathers." Bessie clipped on Henrietta’s tail and gave it a gentle swish. Whoosh! The feathers tickled her back. She swished again. Whoosh, whoosh! The feathers tickled her sides and her hind legs.
"Hee, hee, hee! Stop!" Bessie laughed so hard that her whole belly shook. Then the feathers suddenly flew in every direction. Puff! Puff! Puff! One feather landed on Penny’s nose. "Aaa… achoo!" Another landed between Harry’s ears, and a third stuck to Bessie’s tongue. "Yuck!" Bessie said, spitting it out. The mosquitoes danced happily among the floating feathers. "Bzzz, bzzz!"
Bessie gave the tail back to Henrietta. "It is beautiful, but it tickles far too much." "Cluck, cluck. I suppose you are right," said Henrietta.
Woolly Sheep stepped forward. "Baa! You can try mine. It is soft and fluffy like a little pillow." Bessie clipped on Woolly’s small woolly tail. "Ooh, this feels very nice," she said. But the sun was climbing higher, and the day was growing warmer. The woolly tail heated Bessie’s bottom like a thick winter hat. She felt warm, then very warm, and finally as hot as an oven.
Even worse, the mosquitoes began hiding inside the soft wool. One peeked out from the left, another peeked out from the right, and a third settled right in the middle of the tail. "Oh no!" cried Bessie. "They have turned my tail into their little house!" She quickly unclipped it and handed it back to Woolly. "It is wonderfully soft, but it is much too warm."
"Baa. It would probably be better in winter," Woolly agreed.
Finally, Harry Horse stepped forward. "My tail is long and strong, and it can chase away a whole swarm of flies," he said. Bessie’s face lit up. "That is exactly what I need!" She clipped on Harry’s long horse tail. Swish! A mosquito flew away from her back. Swish, swish! The other mosquitoes scattered. "It works!" Bessie cheered. She was so excited that she swished even harder.
WHOOSH! The long tail swung forward and smacked Bessie right in the face. "Moooo!" Bessie could not see a thing. She stepped backward, and the tail struck a shelf beside the wall. Bump! A brush fell from the shelf. Crash! A little pail tumbled down after it. Splash! The water inside splashed all over Harry’s hooves. "Oh!" cried Harry.
Bessie tried to stop the tail, but it swung in the other direction. WHOOSH! It knocked Penny’s hat off her head, tickled Henrietta, and tangled itself in the fence. "Help!" cried Bessie. All the animals worked together to free the tail. "Harry, your tail is wonderful at chasing away mosquitoes, but it is much too long and wild for me," said Bessie as she handed it back.
Bessie sat sadly in front of her little house. She had tried four different tails, but not one of them fit. Penny’s was too short. Henrietta’s tickled too much. Woolly’s was too warm. And Harry’s was far too long. "What am I going to do?" Bessie whispered. "Without my tail, the mosquitoes will keep biting me. And how will I ever go to the farm ball?"
A little tear rolled down her cheek. Just then, someone knocked on the door. Knock, knock, knock!
All the animals turned around. Gracie Goose stood in the doorway. In her beak, she held something long, soft, and very familiar. "Honk, honk! Are you missing something?" she asked. Bessie jumped to her feet. "My tail!" "You forgot it in my shop yesterday," Gracie explained. "It spent the whole night hanging on the hook behind the yellow dress."
Bessie quickly clipped her tail back where it belonged. She gave it a gentle swish. Swish! A mosquito flew away from her back. Swish, swish! Another flew away from her ear. Swish, swish, swish! All the mosquitoes disappeared. "My own tail is the very best tail for me!" Bessie cried, happily twirling it through the air.
One week later, the day of the grand farm ball finally arrived. Bessie put on her new yellow dress, and Gracie helped her pull her tail through the special opening in the back. Before leaving, Bessie carefully checked everything. "Yellow dress?" "Yes!" "Clean hooves?" "Yes!" "Tail?" Swish, swish! "Yes!"
At the ball, everyone danced, sang, and admired Bessie’s beautiful yellow dress. Bessie twirled across the dance floor while her tail happily swayed from side to side behind her. Whenever a mosquito came near, all it took was one little swish. Swish! And it was gone.
After the ball, the tired animals returned home. Penny curled up her little pink tail, Henrietta tucked in her feathers, Woolly snuggled into the soft grass, and Harry stood quietly in his stable. Bessie climbed into her little bed and laid her tail comfortably beside her. No buzzing. No biting. Only a quiet farm, a soft blanket, and sweet dreams. Goodnight, Bessie. Goodnight, little tail.
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