Why Are Cows Special in India? About one billion people live in India. Mamy people ine an sama farms. They live a quiet and simple life The family salies care of the farm and the animals. The most important animal on the farm and it The cow helps on the farm in two ways gives milli the famili works on the farm. 2 The farmers do not make a lot of mone They can't bay machines help them do their work. Also, the weather is a problem in India. June, July, August, and September there's a loc of rain The gruunad ges very wet. Then the ground gets soft. A machine cannot wordt on soft ground, but a cow can work. cows also do noc cost a loc of mone They don't need gasoline or repairs like machines. 3 Farmers care about their cows very much. They want their cous be The farms aren't busy at certain times of the year At these imes people wash and decorate their cows Americans lilie to wash their cars and Indians like to wash their cows! Two times a year there are special celebrations for the cows. These celebrations are like Thanksgiving in die United States. 4 old cows cannot work on farms. In India, it is against the law ao lill a cow. So farmers send their old cours away from the The cows walk around free in the streets. Sometimes men sell grass in the street People buy the grass and give it to the cows. People also food to the cows, and cars are careful not to hit the cows There special animal hospitals for old or sick cows. The sowemmentand some rich people pay for these hospitals. 5 People in other countries do not understand why the Indian government spends money on cows There are many poor people in India who need money. Indians say that Americans spend more money on cats and dogs. People in India care for over 200 million cous every ear. They have cared for cows for a long time. It is a tradition that is thousands of years old.