The Milking Robot Stops

Tala works on her uncle's dairy farm. She wakes up at five every morning. The sky is still dark. The cows wait in the barn.

The farm has a new machine. It is a milking robot. It is tall and white. It has one long arm. Tala calls it Bell. It rings a small bell after each cow.

Every cow knows the way to Bell. A cow walks in. The arm moves slowly. Bell takes the milk and rings the bell. Then the cow walks out. Tala watches the screen and writes numbers in a book.

"Good morning, Bell," she says. "Are you ready?"

The screen shows a green light. That means yes.

Today the first six cows go in and out. Ding, ding, ding. Tala drinks her tea and smiles. It is a calm morning.

Then Bell stops. A brown cow called Pepper stands inside the machine. The long arm does not move. The light on the screen is red.

Tala runs to the robot. "What is wrong, Bell?" she asks.

She reads the screen. It says, "Very low milk. Please check this cow." Tala looks at Pepper. Pepper is always the first cow in the line. She is loud and hungry every morning. Today she stands very still. Her eyes look sad.

Tala touches Pepper's nose. It is hot and dry. A healthy cow has a cool, wet nose. This is not normal.

"Uncle!" she calls. "Come to the barn! Pepper is sick!"

Her uncle comes fast. He has a small thermometer in his pocket. He checks Pepper and looks worried.

"She has a fever," he says. "We must call the vet. You saw this early, Tala. That is very good."

"I did not see it," Tala says. "Bell did."

Her uncle laughs. "Then Bell is a good worker."

The vet comes at seven. She is a tall woman with a blue bag. She looks at Pepper's eyes and listens to her chest. Then she gives her some medicine.

"Pepper needs rest and water," the vet says. "She will be fine in two days."

Tala makes a soft straw bed in a stall. She brings fresh water in a big bucket. Pepper drinks a little. Then she closes her eyes.

"Sleep well," Tala says.

The other cows still come to Bell. Ding, ding, ding. The morning goes on. But Tala looks at the small stall again and again.

At noon her uncle sits with her on the fence. He opens the robot's book on his phone.

"Look at the numbers," he says. "Every cow gives a little different milk each day. Bell remembers all of them. If one number goes down, Bell stops. Then it tells us."

"So Bell knows which cow is sick," Tala says.

"Yes," her uncle says. "But Bell cannot sit with her. Bell cannot bring her water."

"I can do that," says Tala.

That afternoon she checks Pepper every hour. In the evening Pepper stands up. She eats a little hay. Her nose is cooler now.

The next day Pepper walks to the machine. Tala stands beside her. The long arm moves. Bell takes the milk. The numbers on the screen go up.

"Look, Bell," Tala says. "She is back."

The light turns green.

That night Tala writes in the book: "Pepper is better." Then she walks to the robot in the dark barn. She pats its long white arm.

"Thank you," she says.

Ding.