FARM ECHOES. 69 



a promise better kept. He became a great pet, and 

 contributed largely to the merriment, or fear, of those 

 who made his acquaintance. Whether merriment or 

 fear predominated depended very much upon the hilarity 

 of the lamb, and his mode of showing it. He was ap- 

 propriately named " Daisy." 



The lad for whose special benefit the lamb had been 

 procured, had a full measure of sport with him the first 

 summer, but it afterwards became apparent that too 

 great familiarity was dangerous, for it was clear that 



Willie had a little lamb, 



His fleece as black as jet, 

 And if too near him Willie went, 



He was sure to be upset. 



This was nothing to the discredit of the boy, for some 

 gentlemen whose bravery upon the battle field had never 

 been questioned, eagerly sought refuge behind a fence, 

 when they saw Daisy making for them. However nimbly 

 they vaulted over walls, Daisy was much more nimble 

 than they, and was "over "about as soon as any of 

 them. Leaping walls was one of Daisy's delights. Un- 

 like politicians and cats, he was never on the fence, but 

 took a decided stand one side or the other. 



I am sorry to say Daisy was a "black sheep " in charac- 

 ter, for he became a noted thief, so expert in picking the 

 pockets of the men, as to make it unsafe to leave a coat 

 or vest within his reach. His fondness for tobacco must 

 have originated with the men, who probably gave him 

 some to see what he would do with it. If they were the 

 guilty ones, they paid well for thus training him, as he 

 helped himself freely, at their expense, whenever an op- 



