The Terrible Two

The novel opens by introducing the reader to Yawnee Valley and its ubiquitous amount of cows. Using humorous illustrations, the authors utilize cows as a motif in the narrative, symbolizing the setting and landscape of the story. The cows represent the rural and agricultural identity of Yawnee Valley and likely form the backbone of their economy. Niles even lives on “47 Buttercream Lane” (164). The presence of so many bovines also highlights the contrast in Miles’s new town to his old hometown as the fields full of cows contrast his previous seaside home. The authors use sensory imagery in the sense of smell to highlight the contrast. Miles does not like the pungent smell of cattle, nor can he understand the town’s obsession with the spotted, cud-chewing beasts. During his first meeting with Principal Barkin, he derides Miles for not having an interest in cows and gifts him the cow facts pamphlet, which becomes a recurring feature in the story. Despite Miles’s indifference to the cows, he cannot ignore them as they are a central part of his new life in Yawnee Valley. Anytime things begin to go sideways in Miles’s life, “[s]omewhere in the distance a cow mooed” (24), and the cows become like a Greek chorus through the narrative reminding him of how different his life has become.

Though Miles has no love for the cows of Yawnee Valley, once he joins forces with Niles, he realizes that they might be useful animals after all. Remembering the cow pamphlet Principal Barkin gave him, Miles teaches Niles that cows cannot descend stairs, and suddenly, they have an idea. On their midnight cattle drive, Miles encounters the animals up close for the first time. By being close to the cows and seeing how they move, Miles develops a new respect for them and enjoys being in their presence. When Principal Barkin arrives at the school the following morning to find the building packed with cows, it brings the narrative to a climax as the befuddled principal scrambles with how to save the school day. The pranksters turn the tables and use Yawnee Valley’s valuable husbandry to embarrass Principal Barkin. For Miles, the creatures he at first loathed, become the heroes of his best prank ever and symbolize the day he and his friend closed school and bested their tyrannical principal.