Lonely Nuisance
We had two huge, 250-pound sheep growing up. They were, of course, pets. The oldest one, who we named Baby because he cried all the time, was a Mother's Day gift for my mom. A few years later, we took Baby back to the place we got him from so he could be sheared. As we were waiting, Mom and Dad started talking to the owner of the farm. He pointed out a lone sheep and told my parents, "See that one right there? He's such a nuisance! And he's a little orphan." Well, when Mom heard this, she knew she couldn't leave him at the farm, so they came home with two sheep that day. Appropriately, we named this new sheep Nuisance.
Baby and Nuisance were the best of friends. They grazed out in the field all day long, bleating back and forth to each other. As the years went on, the sheep got older, and Baby had a hard time tolerating the hot Oklahoma summers. We knew he wouldn't be with us much longer. We were all sad when he passed, and I think Nuisance was too.
One warm day, several long months later, we were sitting around with the windows open, and I heard a cow in the yard. This wasn't an unusual thing, as we were surrounded by cow fields, and sometimes the cows got out. I heard the mooing and ran out the back door to chase the cow back to it's own field. But when I got outside, I couldn't see a cow anywhere. I figured it must've just been one next door that sounded closer than it was. As I was going back inside, I heard the mooing again. I turned around and searched the yard and field one more time.
My eyes rested on Nuisance, and I shook my head. Surely not. Then I saw it. Nuisance opened his mouth and mooed. I couldn't believe it. I ran back into the house and called for Mom to come outside with me. We ran back out to the back deck and stared at Nuisance as he mooed again. Poor Nuisance had been without hearing other sheep sounds for so long that he'd begun mimicking the cows around him.
I loved going to school the next day and telling my friends this story. Not many people believed me, but I thought having a mooing sheep was the coolest thing ever.
We had two huge, 250-pound sheep growing up. They were, of course, pets. The oldest one, who we named Baby because he cried all the time, was a Mother's Day gift for my mom. A few years later, we took Baby back to the place we got him from so he could be sheared. As we were waiting, Mom and Dad started talking to the owner of the farm. He pointed out a lone sheep and told my parents, "See that one right there? He's such a nuisance! And he's a little orphan." Well, when Mom heard this, she knew she couldn't leave him at the farm, so they came home with two sheep that day. Appropriately, we named this new sheep Nuisance.
Baby and Nuisance were the best of friends. They grazed out in the field all day long, bleating back and forth to each other. As the years went on, the sheep got older, and Baby had a hard time tolerating the hot Oklahoma summers. We knew he wouldn't be with us much longer. We were all sad when he passed, and I think Nuisance was too.
One warm day, several long months later, we were sitting around with the windows open, and I heard a cow in the yard. This wasn't an unusual thing, as we were surrounded by cow fields, and sometimes the cows got out. I heard the mooing and ran out the back door to chase the cow back to it's own field. But when I got outside, I couldn't see a cow anywhere. I figured it must've just been one next door that sounded closer than it was. As I was going back inside, I heard the mooing again. I turned around and searched the yard and field one more time.
My eyes rested on Nuisance, and I shook my head. Surely not. Then I saw it. Nuisance opened his mouth and mooed. I couldn't believe it. I ran back into the house and called for Mom to come outside with me. We ran back out to the back deck and stared at Nuisance as he mooed again. Poor Nuisance had been without hearing other sheep sounds for so long that he'd begun mimicking the cows around him.
I loved going to school the next day and telling my friends this story. Not many people believed me, but I thought having a mooing sheep was the coolest thing ever.
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