One fine morning, Farmer Albert went to the barn to milk his favorite cow, Jenny. Much to his delight, Jenny filled a bucket to the brim with creamy white milk. Farmer Albert took it back to the house for his family. He then went to gather the eggs from the chicken coop. Farmer Albert loved fresh eggs and so did his wife, Anna. She made omelets with onions, ham and cheese and Farmer Albert devoured them hungrily.

After he'd finished gathering eggs, he grabbed a bale of hay and went to feed his bull, Willie. Willie stayed in a field of tall grass and nibbled all day, but when Farmer Albert brought him hay, he'd buck and ran around, happy as could be. This day Farmer Albert found Willie sitting in the grass. He wasn't happy at all. He didn't run around and buck, but sat with a frown.

Farmer Albert took the hay right up to him, petted the bull's cheeks and sang him a song.

“Willie, the bull, is the best around.
 No other bull like him can be found.
 With horns and hooves and patches too,
 Willie, the bull, there's no bull like you.”

Even the song didn't cheer Willie up.

Farmer Albert had an idea. “Maybe Willie is lonely.” He went back to his house and called for Anna. “Anna, Willie, the bull is lonely and sad. Do we have anything that would cheer him  up?”

Anna wiped her hands on her apron. “How about if we give him a teddy bear. I heard Mildred telling Penelope that she gave her cow, Sally, a teddy and she produced much more milk.” Anna went into the bedroom and came out a few minutes later with a fluffy brown teddy. “Here, give this to Willie.”

Farmer Albert shrugged his shoulders. “It won't hurt to try.” He took the teddy bear into the field. “Look what I brought you, Willie. It's a friend. His name is Buster. He's all yours.” Farmer Albert put the teddy on Willie's back.

Willie turned his head and looked at the teddy bear. A smile spread across his face. He stood and munched on the hay. When he finished he ran around the field and bucked, making sure the bear didn't fall off.

“Very good. I see that you like Buster. He'll keep you company.” Farmer Albert patted Willie's cheeks and went home. He opened the front door. “Anna, it worked. Willie loved his teddy. Do you have another?”

Anna handed him a second teddy bear. “What do you want it for?”

“I thought maybe Jenny would like one too. She's by herself most of the time and maybe she'll give more milk.” Farmer Albert took the teddy out to the barn and put it on Jenny's back. “This is for you, Jenny. She's your friend and you can keep her. Her name is Tessa.”

Jenny gave a loud moo.

The next morning Farmer Albert went to the barn to milk Jenny. He was most surprised when she filled up three buckets with milk. He carried them back to the house. “Anna, it worked. Jenny gave us three times as much milk.”

Anna smiled. “There's nothing like a teddy bear to make you feel happy.” She handed one to Farmer Albert. “This is for you. You can keep it on the bed or take it with you. His name is Bartholomew.”

Farmer Albert hugged his teddy and put it on his bed. Never again were any of the animals, or people, at Farmer Albert's farm lonely again.