CHAPTER 5

As winter drew on, Mollie became more and more troublesome. She was

late for work every morning and excused herself by saying that she had

overslept, and she complained of mysterious pains, although her appetite

was excellent. On every kind of pretext she would run away from work

and go to the drinking pool, where she would stand foolishly gazing at

her own reflection in the water. But there were also rumours of

something more serious. One day, as Mollie strolled blithely into the

yard, flirting her long tail and chewing at a stalk of hay, Clover took her

aside.