April, and gave him extras
different kinds of meal, till I found what suited him best; now he does
me credit."

"Dear little lamb," said Miss Laura, patting him, "How can you tell him
from the others, uncle?"

"I know all their faces, Laura. A flock of sheep is just like a crowd
of people. They all have different expressions, and have different
dispositions."

"They all look alike to me," said Miss Laura.

"I dare say. You are not accustomed to them. Do you know how to tell a
sheep's age?"

"No, uncle."

"Here, open your mouth, Cosset," he said to the lamb that he still held.
"At one year they have two teeth in the centre of the jaw. They get two
teeth more every year up to five years. Then we say they have 'a full
mouth.' After that you can't tell their age exactly by the teeth. Now,
run back to your mother," and he let the lamb go.

"Do they always know their own mothers?" asked Miss Laura.

"Usually. Sometimes a ewe will not own her lamb. In that case we tie
them up in a separate stall till she recognizes it. Do you see that
sheep over there by the blueberry bushes the one with the very pointed
ears?"

"Yes, uncle," said Miss Laura.

"That lamb by her side is not her own. Hers died and we took its fleece
and wrapped it around a twin lamb that we took from another ewe, and
gave to her. She soon adopted it. Now, come this way, and I'll show you
our movable feeding troughs."

He got up from the log, and Miss Laura followed him to the fence. "These
big troughs are for the sheep," said Mr. Wood, "and these shallow ones
in the enclosure are for the lambs. See, there is just room enough for
them to get under the fence. You should see the small creatures rush to
them whenever we appear with their oats, and wheat, or bran, or whatever
we are going to give them. If they are going to the butcher, they get
corn meal and oil meal. Whatever it is, they eat it up clean. I don't
believe in cramming animals. I feed them as much as is good for them,
and not any more. Now, you go sit down over there behind those bushes
with Joe, and I'll attend to business."

Miss Laura found a shady place, and I curled myself up beside her. We
sat there a long time, but we did not get tired, for it was amusing to
watch the sheep and lambs. After a while, Mr. Wood came and sat down
beside us. He talked some more about sheep-raising; then he said, "You
may stay here longer if you like, but I must get down to the house. The
work must be