' what would you do with a cow ? ' asked matte . ' she could not swim so far , and our boat is not large enough to bring her over here ; and even if we had her , we have nothing to feed her on . ' ' we have four alder bushes and sixteen tufts of grass , ' rejoined maie . ' yes , of course , ' laughed matte , ' and we have also three plants of garlic . garlic would be fine feeding for her . ' ' every cow likes salt herring , ' rejoined his wife . ' even prince is fond of fish . ' ' that may be , ' said her husband . ' methinks she would soon be a dear cow if we had to feed her on salt herring . all very well for prince , who fights with the gulls over the last morsel . put the cow out of your head , mother , we are very well off as we are . ' maie sighed . she knew well that her husband was right , but she could not give up the idea of a cow . the buttermilk no longer tasted as good as usual in the coffee ; she thought of sweet cream and fresh butter , and of how there was nothing in the world to be compared with them . one day as matte and his wife were cleaning herring on the shore they heard prince barking , and soon there appeared a gaily painted boat with three young men in it , steering towards the rock . they were students , on a boating excursion , and wanted to get something to eat . ' bring us a junket , good mother , ' cried they to maie . ' ah ! if only i had such a thing ! ' sighed maie . ' a can of fresh milk , then , ' said the students ; ' but it must not be skim . ' ' yes , if only i had it ! ' sighed the old woman , still more deeply . ' what ! have n't you got a cow ? ' but the herring were now ready , and the students ate enough for six , and gave prince some cold meat which they happened to have in the boat . prince sat on his hind legs with delight and mewed like a pussy cat . when all was finished , the students handed matte a shining silver coin , and allowed him to fill his pipe with a special kind of tobacco . they then thanked him for his kind hospitality and went on their journey , much regretted by prince , who sat with a woeful expression and whined on the shore as long as he could see a flip of the boat 's white sail in the distance . maie had never uttered a word , but thought the more . she had good ears , and had laid to heart the story about ahti . ' how delightful , ' thought she to herself , ' to possess a fairy cow ! how delicious every morning and evening to draw milk from it , and yet have no trouble about the feeding , and to keep a shelf near the window for dishes of milk and junkets ! but this will never be my luck . ' 
why didn't maie tell her husband she wanted a fairy cow ?
her husband already told her that they could n't have a cow .
she knew he would tell her they did not exist .