Book 1
Downsy’s Speed
Page 1
This is Downsy
Downsy lives on Buttercup Farm with her mama, Clementine, and twenty-nine other cows.
She wears round glasses and a yellow bandana. Her ear tag says 321. She likes clover, puddles, and the bell song Farmer June plays at sunrise.
Downsy has Down syndrome. That means she was born with an extra chromosome. Chromosomes are tiny instructions inside every part of a body, and Downsy got one more than most cows.
Some things take Downsy longer, like long words and steep hills. Some things she does better than anyone.
Page 2
Tall Hill
Every morning the herd walks up Tall Hill to the sweetest clover. The other cows trot. Downsy walks. Her muscles are a little floppier than theirs, and her legs get tired.
Halfway up, she rests at the Big Rock.
“Hurry up, slowpoke!” called Bramble, a young bull with burrs in his tail.
Downsy lifted her chin. “I am not Slowpoke. I am Downsy. I am going my speed.”
Page 3
Stretch, Step, Stomp
Farmer June helps Downsy get stronger. Every afternoon, by the water trough, they practice.
Stretch. Step. Stomp.
Some days it is fun. Some days it is not. One day Downsy kicked the bucket over and cried.
“It’s okay to be mad,” said Mama Clementine, nuzzling her. “Mad and brave can live in the same cow.”
The next day, Downsy practiced again.
Page 4
Thirty-One Names
Downsy knows every cow on Buttercup Farm by name. All thirty-one, counting herself. Peaches. Old Moe. The twins, Dot and Dash. Bramble.
Every evening, when the herd comes down the hill, Downsy counts them into the barn, one by one.
Nobody asked her to. She just likes to know that everyone is home.
Page 5
The Fog
One evening, a thick fog rolled over Tall Hill. The cows hurried down so fast they bumped into each other.
Downsy came last, at her speed, counting. “Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty.”
Thirty. Not thirty-one.
“Where is Bramble?”
Nobody else had noticed. They had all been going too fast.
Page 6
Downsy’s Speed
Downsy turned around and climbed back up into the fog. Stretch. Step. Stomp. Past the Big Rock, she heard a small, sad moo.
Bramble’s tail was tangled in a blackberry bush, and he was shaking.
Downsy pulled him free, very gently. Then she rang her bell so the whole farm could hear them.
“Walk with me,” she said. “We go my speed. My speed is a good speed in the fog.”
Page 7
Home
When the two of them reached the barn, the whole herd mooed at once. Farmer June wrapped Bramble in a blanket.
Downsy counted one more time. “Thirty-one.”
“I’m sorry I called you slowpoke,” said Bramble. “Can I walk with you tomorrow?”
Page 8
Sunrise at the Big Rock
The next morning, the whole herd walked up Tall Hill at Downsy’s speed. Halfway up, they all stopped at the Big Rock.
For the first time, every cow on Buttercup Farm watched the sun come up over the valley. It had been there every morning. They had always been going too fast to see it.
“This is my favorite part,” said Downsy.
The End
Some cows are fast. Some cows are slow. Downsy goes Downsy speed.