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| The Lamb who became a Fox.
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I was told this story many years ago by an ancient shepherd and I believed him that it was true.
Once upon a time long ago, before you or I were born, and before this village even existed, there lived a beautiful little lamb. This was the most beautiful lamb that had ever been born in the herd because she had the whitest, curliest coat that anyone had ever seen.
One day, as she was running and playing on the mountain, she became separated from the herd. She was very frightened and called out for her mother but there was no answer. She continued to run and shout and soon found herself lost in a wood.
Now, little lambs aren’t used to being in a wood. They are used to open pastures with a dog and a shepherd to watch over them. So the little lamb continued to run and call for her mother. As she did this, she ran through brambles and thickets and the spines on the branches pulled at her beautiful white coat and scraped her skin. Soon, what with all the pulling and scraping, not only was her coat straight but it was also dyed red from the blood of the scrapes.
Finally, exhausted, she fell asleep under a tree. A little while later a mother fox came upon her and woke her. “Oh, my poor dear”, said the mother fox, “you must be lost! Come home with me and I will give you something to eat.” So the little lamb followed the fox home to her snug little den under the roots of a tree, had something to eat and slept the night through with the fox cubs warm around her.
In the morning, the lamb told the mother fox that she had lost her mother on the pasture. The fox told her which trail to follow in order to get back to the pasture. They embraced and parted.
Soon the lamb came out of the wood in the precise location that she had entered it and saw the herd grazing. She began to run and call out for her mother. But since her coat was now straight and red, and the wind carried the scent of the fox den, all the sheep thought that she was a fox, too.
The sheep started bleating and running. Even the little lamb’s mother (who was heart-broken for the loss of her beautiful lamb) began to run and bleat, calling to the shepherd. The shepherd heard all the commotion and came running in the other direction to see what was the problem. When he saw the little lamb running after the sheep, he thought she was a fox and shot her.
And that is why all the animals to this day are conscious of how they appear, especially when they are running.
After telling me this story, the ancient shepherd gave me grappa to drink from an old leather container and told me stories that he had heard from his grandfather and others that told of the giants who lived on the same mountains.
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| Blog Comments
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are you still on the lamb from that stolen record caper...you sound a bit sheepish to me
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Posted by roe
on 2007-12-02 22:36:32
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was gonna post something, but sees roes retort, lil laugh
runs
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Posted by kentlass
on 2007-12-04 15:36:41
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We trust the old shepherd learned a lesson on that day, i.e., don't shoot 'til you see the whites of their eyes!
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Posted by wlamebull
on 2007-12-05 07:42:57
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The poor lil' lamb.
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Posted by DifficultSoul
on 2007-12-12 01:18:45
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| Views: 92
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