Story of the Silly Lamb

I will tell you a story about a lamb. There was once a shepherd, who / had a great many sheep and lambs. He took a great deal of care of / them, and gave them sweet fresh grass to eat, and clear water to / drink; and if they were sick he was very good to them, and when they / climbed up a steep hill, and the lambs were tired, he used to carry / them in his arms; and when they were all eating their suppers in the / field, he used to sit upon a stile, and play them a tune, and sing to / them; and so they were the happiest sheep and lambs in the whole / world. But every night this shepherd used to pen them up in a fold. Do / you know what a sheepfold is? Well, I will tell you. It is a place / like the court; but instead of pales there are hurdles, which are made / of sticks that will bend, such as osier twigs; and they are twisted / and made very fast, so that nothing can creep in, and nothing can get / out. Well, and so every night, when it grew dark and cold, the / shepherd called all his flock, sheep and lambs, together, and drove / them into the fold, and penned them up, and there they lay, as snug / and warm and as comfortable as could be, and nothing could get into / and hurt them, and the dogs lay round on the outside to guard them, / and to bark if any body came near; and in the morning the shepherd / unpenned the fold, and let them all out again.

Now they were all very happy, as I told you, and loved the shepherd / dearly that was so good to them -- all except one foolish little lamb. And / this lamb did not like to be shut up every night in the fold; and she / came to her mother, who was a wise old sheep, and said to her, I wonder / why we are shut up so every night! the dogs are not shut up, and why / should we be shut up? I think it is very hard, and I will get away if I / can, I am resolved, for I like to run about where I please, and I think / it is very pleasant in the woods by moonlight. Then the old sheep said / to her, you are very silly, you little lamb, you had better stay in the / fold. The shepherd is so good to us, that we should always do as he bids / us; and if you wander about by yourself, I dare say you will come to / some harm. I dare say not, said the little lamb: and so when the evening / came, and the shepherd called them all to come into the fold, she would / not come, but crept slily under a hedge and hid herself; and when the / rest of the lambs were all in the fold and fast asleep, she came out and / jumped, and frisked, and danced about; and she got out of the field, and / got into a forest full of trees, and a very fierce wolf came rushing out / of a cave and howled very loud. Then the silly lamb wished she had been / shut up in the fold; but the fold was a great way off, -- and the wolf / saw her, and seized her, and carried her away to a dismal dark den, all / covered with bones and blood; and there the wolf had two cubs, and the / wolf said to them, Here, I have brought you a young fat lamb -- and so the / cubs took her, and growled over her a little while, and then tore her to / pieces, and ate her up.