Farmer Brown's farm, usually a place of predictable rhythms and familiar sounds, begins to hum with an unexpected clatter: "Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO." This strange new noise emanates from the barn, where his cows have discovered an old typewriter. Soon, the bovine residents, no longer content with their lot, begin to leave typed notes for Farmer Brown.
Their first demand is simple yet revolutionary: electric blankets. The nights are cold, they explain, and their udders are chilly. Farmer Brown, bewildered by this literate uprising, refuses their request. In response, the cows, with a collective determination, go on strike, withholding their milk. "No milk, no eggs!" becomes their rallying cry, for the hens, inspired by the cows' bravery, soon join the protest, demanding electric blankets of their own and refusing to lay.
Farmer Brown, a man accustomed to the simple give and take of farm life, finds himself in a predicament. How can he run a farm without milk or eggs? He attempts to re-establish order, typing a stern letter back to the animals, reminding them of their duties and rejecting their demands for comfort. But his words carry little weight against the unified front of the barnyard.
An emergency meeting is called in the barn, the other animals gathering curiously at the door to witness the unfolding drama. A resolution is reached: the cows propose a trade. If Farmer Brown provides the electric blankets, they will give him their typewriter. A neutral party, Duck, is chosen to mediate this unusual negotiation.
Farmer Brown, seeing a chance to return to normalcy, agrees to the deal. He leaves the electric blankets for the cows and waits for Duck to deliver the typewriter. However, Duck, it turns out, has a mischievous streak and a mind of his own. Instead of the typewriter, Farmer Brown receives yet another typed note, this time from the ducks themselves. Their pond, they declare, is terribly boring, and they would like a diving board. And so, the negotiations, and the delightful chaos, continue.
