Short Story: Black Sheep? - Bah Humbug!

Short Story: Black Sheep? - Bah Humbug!

It isn’t an easy life being a black sheep you know. All the rest of the guys in the field, including Mum and Dad, are white with cute little black faces and velvety black ears. Me? I’m pure black..

I try so hard to make friends, but I just get bullied.

“Buzz off freak,” they say. I once overheard our Master, the farmer, say ..

“I don’t quite know what to do with this ‘ere black one,” as he scratched his head..

One day, as I was gambolling beside the nearby burn, all on my own as usual, when I heard splashing and yelling. It was a little boy thrashing about in the water. At first I thought he was having fun but then I realised he was in trouble and looked as though he couldn’t swim....

I’m not too fond of deep water as my wool is very heavy and if I get it soaked the weight could drag me down and I might drown. But I could see the little boy was getting tired, and he began coughing and spluttering and gulping the water. I wanted to help but was frightened at the same time, then I thought, well I’ll probably end up a tasty stew soon anyway, so in I went. I held my head up high and began kicking my legs very fast Before too long I was alongside the little boy.

“Climb on to my back,” I shouted. The little boy grabbed my wool and managed to pull himself up on to my back. I was glad when we reached the embankment as I felt myself getting lower and lower in the water with the weight of my soaking wool, and the little boy on my back.

“Where do you live,” I asked.

“Just down the lane,” he said. “Number four,” and he nestled his head in my wool and fell fast asleep. Wet and weary, I walked the little boy home...

My Master and the Dame must have heard what happened because the next day I overheard them talking...

“It really is a beautiful and unusual fleece,” said the Dame. Can we not keep him and sell the wool?”

“Mmmm,” said the Master, “That’s a good idea.”

The story must have spread all over the village too as people come every day now, asking to see the ‘brave black sheep’.

My Master has orders for my wool and I am to be sheared soon. He said he hopes one day he will see more little black sheep running around the field, but I am not sure what he means by that..?

Everyone wants to be my friend now and I am happy to be so popular with; my Master, the Dame and the little boy down the lane.