SHEEP SCULPTURE 



old shepherd manner that I could remember from 

 earlier days, and looked over the unkempt mass of 

 wool before him with a critical eye. Though I didn't 

 realise it at the time, his attitude was much the same 

 as that of Michael Angelo before the mass of marble 

 from which he hewed his David or of Canova when 

 he stood before the lump of butter from which he 

 carved the lion. The showman was really a sheep 

 sculptor, and he was going to snip and clip a prize- 

 winning lamb out of the mass of wool before him. 

 With a sure hand he mowed a slight swath of wool 

 along Mary Belle's back. Where there were humps 

 he cut fairly deep, and where there were depressions 

 he skimmed lightly. The result was a back-line that 

 was as smooth and straight as if cut to a ruler. 

 Swiftly but carefully the shears went snipping along 

 her back and down the sides. What surprised me 

 most was the surface left by this skilful shearing. It 

 looked like a fine felt. If I didn't know better, I 

 would say that the lamb had been clipped right to 

 the skin. Yet there were probably two inches of 

 wool under that deceiving surface in some places. 

 The sculptor proceeded with his work with artistic 

 sureness of touch. He had in his mind an ideal lamb, 



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