Vroom vroom!

  Dale drove them down the roads past all the dairy farms.

  The roads here were all paved!

  Wow, when the government works, the roads get paved…

  Could the Texans figure that out someday?

  Although they seemed to like the dusty dirt road aesthetic…

  But, to Dale’s frustration, the paving ended before they got to Old Man Sam’s Dairy Farm!

  There was a wooden fence, and a gate!

  Beyond it was a dirt road with ruts in it from cart tracks, leading around a bend and fruit trees to parts unknown!

  There was apple trees, and pear trees, and plum trees, and apricot trees, and cherry trees!

  “Ooh!” Lily’s eyes sparkled. “So many fruit trees!”

  Flo puffed out her chest proudly. “That’s right! We have lots of kinds of fruit trees here, and we make a lot of kinds of jams, jellies, and preserves, too!”

  There was nothing like a slice of toast with jam, and a big glass of fresh cold milk!

  “Of course, the Pomum family’s apples are the best…”

  Flo had to stick up for her family orchards!

  But Old Man Sam had variety! Sure, he couldn’t make as much jam, but he could make more than enough for himself and his family, and to share with his neighbors!

  Dale turned off the engine, and the car quieted down. Lily’s Mama got out of the front seat, and opened the back door.

  “Well girls, I’ll be waiting here, so go ahead and take your time.”

  Mr. Cat and Flo hopped right out, but Lily paused.

  “You won’t be bored, Dale?”

  She didn’t know how long it was going to take to solve the Dairy Cow Strike, after all.

  It might even take hours!

  “I’ll be alright, don’t mind me.”

  Dale pulled out a book and waved it around.

  It was a copy of Lonesome Dove, which he had bought while they were in the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas!

  “It’s about driving cattle, which is not what I thought that meant, but it’s still really good! Anyway, don’t mind me, you go and fix your cheese prices.”

  Lily gasped. “Dale, we can’t say that any more!”

  And Dale…

  Shrugged!

  “Whatever you say, little lady.”

  Dale was an easygoing guy!

  With that, Lily hopped out of the car and ran after Flo and Mr. Cat, who were already walking up the dirt path shaded by fruit trees.

  It was a warm sunny summer day!

  The shade was greatly appreciated!

  And little baby fruits were hanging and growing on the tree branches, getting ready for harvest next season!

  But, as they continued walking…

  Lily covered her nose!

  “Ew, it’s stinky!”

  Flo looked back at Lily.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, you’ve never been to a dairy farm, huh. If you think this is bad, wait ‘til you go to a big dairy farm! They’re way stinkier!”

  Lily scrunched up her face.

  Why did Flo sound like it was a competition?!

  It’d be better if they were less stinky!

  Sally chuckled.

  “That’s just how farms with livestock are, Lily,” she explained. “It’s not like our potato farms, or the wheat farms at Grassy Hill.”

  “Besides, it’s a good thing! All that manure makes great fertilizer! That helps the fruit trees grow big and strong!”

  “Eugh…”

  Lily had been willing to work on farms before, when she was stuck doing chores, but now…

  Lilyburgers was a much more pleasant work environment…

  But, soon enough, she got used to it!

  And they reached the end of the dirt path!

  There was a sign that said, “Welcome to Old Man Sam’s Dairy Farm!”

  And sure enough, there was a big red barn, and a cow pen, and there was a man putting feed out for the dairy cows!

  The fence had gaps for the cows to stick their heads through, so they could get to the feed troughs!

  An older man, with bright silver hair and a really wide back and strong arms, was putting hay and alfalfa out for the cows!

  “Moo!”

  “Moo!”

  And all the cows were mooing!

  It sounded like they were thanking him!

  “Old Man Sam!” Flo called, and the silver-haired man turned around, revealing chiseled features and narrow eyes, but also a kindly smile on his face.

  A silver fox type character!

  “Well well, what do we have here?”

  “Meow,” said Mr. Cat.

  “I’m afraid I’m all sold out of milk, if that’s what you’re after…”

  Lily stepped forward.

  “Hi Mister! My name is Lily! I’m here to solve the Dairy Cow Strike!”

  “The Dairy Cow Strike?”

  “Moo.”

  “Moo.”

  “Moooo.”

  Old Man Sam tilted his head.

  “There’s no strike here.”

  “Huh?!” Flo exclaimed. “No strike?!”

  “Nope. Oh, ain’t you… that girl who was yelling out in town at the crack of dawn this morning?”

  It was!

  “Don’t you be yelling around my cows now, you have to be quiet around my cows.”

  He gave Flo a stern look!

  “Moo.”

  “Moo.”

  “Moooo.”

  Flo gulped. “Uh, okay, I won’t, I promise.”

  Old Man Sam smiled again. “Good.”

  Lily…

  Was confused!

  She thought a strike meant all the cows had decided not to make milk anymore, until conditions improved!

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  But these cows weren’t on strike?

  “Moo.”

  Looking more closely…

  The cows seemed happy and content!

  Their tails swish swished as they ate their alfalfa and hay!

  And the ones that weren’t eating, were chewing their cud with a sleepy look on their faces!

  “I’m Old Man Sam, but you can call me Sam.”

  “I’m Sally, Lily’s mother.”

  “Mrow.”

  “And this is Lily’s pet, Mr. Cat.”

  “Meow, hey, I’m nobody’s pet! I’m a free cat!”

  “Heheh, sure you are,” Old Man Sam said, scratching Mr. Cat under his chin.

  “Purr purr…”

  “And I’m Flo. I’m gonna inherit the Pomum family orchards!” Flo said, trying to be quiet but not really succeeding.

  Still, better than yelling.

  “Well, I’m sorry to say, but I’m in the middle of work taking care of my cows,” Old Man Sam said, trying to get back to it.

  “Wait, just a minute!” Lily said.

  She needed to know!

  “How come your cows are happy, when everyone else’s cows won’t make milk?”

  Old Man Sam scratched his jaw and gave it a moment’s thought.

  “I dunno!” he said confidently.

  Lily and Flo’s jaws dropped.

  They were shocked!

  He seemed like he would know…

  “I just do things the way my family always has, going all the way back to John and Marge.”

  “John and Marge?” Lily tilted her head, puzzled.

  “They’re the founders, with Bessie and Lassie!” Flo added helpfully.

  “That’s right,” Old Man Sam nodded. “They’re my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents. I just do things the way they did, for the most part!”

  The older man looked down at the two little girls. “Do you want to see what real dairy farming’s like?”

  “Yeah!” Lily answered enthusiastically.

  That sounded like fun!

  “Uh, sure…” Flo said hesitantly.

  She was an apple farmer, at heart!

  But Lily was so excited, she kinda got swept along…

  “Meow!”

  “Heheh, sure, we’ll get you some cream at the end, Mr. Cat,” Old Man Sam agreed.

  And so, for a few hours, Lily and Flo worked on Old Man Sam’s dairy farm!

  He showed them how to handle the cows the right way, like his ancestors did!

  No sneaking up on them from behind!

  No loud noises!

  Make sure they have plenty of clean water!

  “Now, this is really important,” Old Man Sam said, showing them the water troughs. “I gotta keep the water troughs cleaned all the time, just the way my ancestors did.”

  The troughs were all shaded, as was the big water tank, which was really far away from the cow pen and barn!

  “Why is the water tank so far?” Lily asked.

  “Because of the heater and cooler I got on it.”

  “Huh?”

  “The water’s gotta be a good temperature for the cows, just like my pappy taught me! In the summer, without shade, the metal tank can get really hot, and the water inside gets hot too! My ancestors never let the water get too hot!”

  “Oooh, that makes sense, because they’re already wearing fur coats!” Lily understood!

  They walked over, and they could all hear the loud rumble of the cooler running.

  “In the winter, the water’s gotta be warmed up a bit, too. Not too much, but it can’t be freezing cold. My pappy used to have me out here heating up kettles of water over a fire… The heater and cooler are much more convenient!”

  “I see,” Flo said.

  She usually drank hot chocolate in the winter!

  The water got really cold in Wisconsin in the winter, when it was snowing…

  They walked back to the pen, and saw that there were a bunch of shady trees in it. Most of the cows were standing in the shade!

  Some were even rubbing up against the trees!

  “Why’re the cows doing that?” Flo asked.

  “I dunno, my pappy just taught me to make sure the cows had trees and posts. I guess they’re scratching themselves? Anyway, it’s tradition.”

  “And that?” Flo pointed at two cows knocking a big ball around with their heads.

  Old Man Sam chuckled.

  “Tradition. And they cows do use the ball, so it must be good for somethin’!”

  The cows slowly knocked the ball back and forth.

  “Moo.”

  “Moo.”

  Finally, Old Man Sam showed them the barn.

  It was empty!

  “Where are all the other cows?” Flo asked.

  “They’re all outside, that’s all of them.”

  “Huh?!”

  “Yep, my herd’s pretty small. Only about fifty cows.”

  “That’s way less than the other dairy farms!”

  Old Man Sam frowned. “Really? Hmm… Tradition is to keep the heard between fifty and a hundred cows. No less, and no more!”

  Lily looked around the barn. There were a lot of stalls, with plenty of room for the cows to turn around in, and the floors were clean, with clean bedding for each cow.

  And, on one end, there was the milking machine!

  Old Man Sam showed them the machine proudly!

  “This here’s my latest purchase for the farm. It’s the gentlest, quietest milk machine I could get! It’s even got heated suction cups! Tradition is to do all the milking by hand, but my kids all went off to college, and it’s just me these days…”

  Old Man Sam looked around, and leaned in and spoke softly. “Don’t be telling my Ma and Pa I got the milking machine, okay? They’d pitch a fit.”

  “Whoa…” Lily looked at it. There was a bunch of tubes everywhere!

  “And then the milk goes in the milk churns automatically.”

  They were big, tall, shiny metal bottles! Almost half as tall as Lily was!

  “Cows have to be milked regularly, you know, at least once a day. The new milking machine has been a lifesaver.” Old Man Sam patted the machine affectionately.

  Then, a cow walked in, mooing!

  Her udders were swollen!

  “Well, looks like it’s her time. Look, I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Old Man Sam put some feed down in a bowl, and the cow walked up to the milk machine and started eating. Then he attached the suction cups, and turned on the machine.

  It was so quiet!

  “Moooo…”

  The cow sounded almost relieved, and the milk filled the milk churn!

  Soon enough, the cow was done, and Old Man Sam took off the suction cups, and rubbed the cow on her side.

  “Alright now, git on.”

  “Moo.”

  And the cow wandered back outside at a slow pace.

  “Mister Old Man Sam…” Flo said. “How come you don’t have more cows? It looks like you’re super successful, and everyone else is struggling! You could corner the market! Look at all the space you have for more cows.”

  Old Man Sam frowned a little.

  “It’s the family tradition. It’s not all about money, you know?”

  “Huh?!”

  Flo was shocked.

  If it wasn’t about money, what was it about?!

  He paused a minute, thinking of a way to explain it.

  Then, he gave up!

  He shrugged!

  “Well, that’s just the way it’s always been, and it works! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, hahaha.”

  He laughed, full of self-confidence!

  And he was right!

  He had the happiest cows in Wisconsin, and no clue why!

  Lily looked up at her ghosts.

  Usually they knew everything!

  But this time…

  “We have no clue!”

  “Clearly he’s doing something right.”

  “Sure sounds like this guy knows his stuff,” Duke said.

  Duke was a traditional kinda ghost!

  “Oh, maybe it’s kinda like franchises,” Ray said. “You can only serve so many customers a day at a Lilyburgers; eventually, if there’s too much demand, you’ll need to make a whole 'nother Lilyburgers to meet demand. That’s kinda like how the dairy farm is.”

  That…

  Sparked an idea!

  Instead of the cows being the Lilyburger workers…

  What if the cows were the Lilyburger customers?

  And they weren’t happy with the service!

  So they weren’t paying for the food!

  Like how they weren’t making milk, or meeting with the boy cows from the Great and Everlasting Free State of Texas!

  The hippie from this morning hadn’t been able to connect with the cows…

  But Lily had an idea!

  A good idea!

  “I need to put on my dairy cow thinking hat…” Lily said, out loud.

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  They had expressions of concern on their faces!

  “Lily, what’re you on about now?” Flo said.

  “I need a costume!”

  “What fer?” Old Man Sam asked.

  Lily mimed putting on a hat.

  “When I need to do business, I put on my business thinking hat!”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Yep, that’s normal.”

  “And when I caught the cattle rustlers, I put on a cowgirl hat!”

  Lily’s Mama nodded.

  “Yep, you did.”

  Flo frowned.

  “So you want a farmer hat?”

  “No, that won’t work!”

  Lots of farmers had thought about this already!

  “I need a dairy cow costume! I need to put on my dairy cow thinking hat!”

  Nobody got it, except…

  Ghostly Duke!

  “Oh, you’re talking about method acting.”

  Lily nodded.

  “Method acting!” she parroted, not knowing what that meant!

  “Method acting?” Old Man Sam asked.

  He was totally lost!

  “Basically, I have to think like a cow! Then, I can solve the strike!”

  Flo and Old Man Sam shared a concerned look.

  “Trust me, this’ll work!” Lily said.

  “It’s time to go shopping!”