Episode 1: Mabel arrives in an agitated state, begins to settle down nicely in the role of expectant Jersey cow getting comfy in the pasture and learning to love the bucket of sweet feed.
Episode 2: The Schoolhouse family goes on vacation, leaving Mabel to entertain herself, with only daily visits from Phyllis, her part-owner. On the last day of vacation, unknown to anyone, Mabel stages her break-out. In the rain.
The family arrives home at midnight. Anna goes to the pasture to check on Mabel at sunrise. The field is empty, the little gate is wide open. She spreads the alarm.
Felix skips church to track Mabel up the hill, where she has apparently laid down in some long grass. All the signs point to a westward getaway.
Later that day, Felix leaves for England. Meanwhile, Phyllis makes up "Have you seen this cow?" flyers and distributes them around the neighborhood. The handsome white-haired Swedish therapist across the road calls to say Mabel spent Saturday afternoon in his yard.
She has gone eastward.
Episode 3: For three weeks Mabel continues to roam the back fence-lines of the neighborhood. She doesn't come to the other cow pastures, preferring instead to walk up and down the mown strip known as the utility cut. She uses this route to evade her two owners: Neal, usually on a very slow horse, and Chuck, often on his mountain bike.
Comedy, swearing, and heartache ensue as Neal and Chuck go out through heavy brush and woods, spotting her almost every day and losing her as she runs away. Neal carries a lasso but never gets to use it.
Finally, one afternoon, Mabel shows up in a neighbor's driveway, allows herself to be lured into a fenced pasture by brave neighbor Susan, and Chuck has the privilege of slamming and locking the gate.
(Preview of Episode 4): Mabel is driven down the cattle chute into Neal's trailer and driven straight to the place where she will have her horns removed (having used them as weapons on many scary occasions) . . . .