OUR FIRST SHEEP 



for the leadership of the herd, but she shewed in 

 every line of her face and form that sheep were 

 something new to her and that she didn't think much 

 of them. The colts were the most excited of all. 

 They ran around the sheep in large circles, snorting 

 and shying. Whenever they crossed the tracks of 

 the sheep they seemed to catch the unaccustomed 

 scent like hound dogs and their excitement increased 

 amazingly. Finally they got the sheep frightened, 

 and in order to prevent trouble, we had to put the 

 colts in another field. Though several days have 

 passed the colts do not seem to get used to their new 

 neighbours, and they snort with terror whenever 

 they have to pass the sheep pen. It is quite evident 

 that they cannot be allowed to run together for 

 some time. 



The arrival of the sheep on the farm caused me 

 to give them some attention, and the more I medi- 

 tate on them the more I regret that we did not go in 

 for sheep-raising long ago. They have opened to me 

 an entirely new field for articles. I had never real- 

 ised how completely and intimately sheep are bound 

 up with the history and literature of mankind. In 

 symbolism they date back to the earliest chapters of 



87 



