VAIN REGRETS 



boy, I thought they wouldn't be much trouble, as 

 they would pasture most of the time with the neigh- 

 bours anyway. But the boys didn't go in for that 

 kind. They got pure-bred registered sheep, and 

 started under the best auspices, with a little flock 

 that was partly bought and partly taken on shares. 

 I admired the addition to the farm live stock, but did 

 not get excited. These quiet, plump sheep did not 

 seem to promise adventure of any kind. The sheep 

 I used to know were more like Ancient Pistol's 

 "damned and luxurious mountain goat" than they 

 were like these pampered pets of the show-ring. Of 

 course. I recorded the arrival of Mary Belle and 

 Clarissa and Strafe, and told something about their 

 doings, but felt no inclination to take up "the 

 homely, slighted shepherd's trade." And now see 

 what has happened. Last week a buyer of fancy 

 sheep came along, gave the flock the once over, and 

 then bought Mary Belle. When they told me the 

 price he was paying, my wrath against John Milton 

 boiled over. "Slighted shepherd's trade," indeed! 

 That buyer paid sixty-five dollars for Mary Belle! 

 You could have bought a whole flock of the sheep I 

 used to know for that price. Why, O why, didn't 

 I go in for sheep when I came back to the land? 



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