six
o'clock
He sent us off laughing and told us to be at the fair on time . The next day at daybreak the town was full of excitement . From our room at the inn we could hear the carts and wagons rolling over the cobblestones in the street below , and the cows bellowing , the sheep bleating , the farmers shouting at their animals and joking with each other . We jumped into our clothes and arrived at the fair at six o'clock , for we wanted to make a selection before the veterinarian arrived . What beautiful cows they were , ... all colors , and all sizes , some fat , some thin , and some with their calves ; there were also horses and great fat pigs , scooping holes in the ground , and little plump sucking pigs , squealing as though they were being skinned alive . But we had eyes for nothing but the cows ; they stood very quiet , placidly chewing . They permitted us to make a thorough examination , merely blinking their eyelids .