When The Balloon Goes Down

'There's another one!' Norma mooed. 'And another!'

Bertha looked in the direction that Norma's tail was pointing. There were at least a dozen bright red balloons floating across Cow Island and there were more off in the distance.

'There's something hanging from them!' Bertha observed.

'So there is!' Norma agreed. Which was the correct reply because there was. 'Too high to tell what they are though,' she added.

'But,' Bertha replied, '......................Come and help.'

So Norma did and she and Bertha swung the stapler around and tilted it skyward.

'It'll be good practice,' Bertha said, 'with a moving target.'

The first couple of staples missed but the third clipped the edge of one of the balloons. There was a loud POP and the burst balloon fell toward the island. 

Bertha switched to another target.

'Pop' went a second balloon.

'First time!' Bertha called out. She really was a very good shot.

So, while Bertha burst balloons, Norma stampeded off toward where the first had landed. It took her a few minutes to get to it and rescue it out of a tree and by the time she got back to Bertha there were very few balloons left in the air.

'What was on the end of it?' Bertha called out.

Norma paused for a moment to get her breath back.

'I have a feeling,' she finally replied, 'that it's the start of an adventure!'

Which was exactly the kind of distraction that Norma had been hoping for.