g ones have
to be protected. It pays me to take care of my fruit trees, for I get a
splendid crop from them, thanks to the sheep."

"Good-bye, little lambs and dear old sheep," said Miss Laura, as her
uncle opened the gate for her to leave the pasture. "I'll come and see
you again some time. Now, you had better go down to the brook in the
dingle and have a drink. You look hot in your warm coats."

"You've mastered one detail of sheep-keeping," said Mr. Wood, as he
slowly walked along beside his niece. "To raise healthy sheep one must
have pure water where they can get to it whenever they like. Give them
good water, good food, and a variety of it, good quarters--cool in
summer, comfortable in winter, and keep them quiet, and you'll make them
happy and make money on them."

"I think I'd like sheep-raising," said Miss Laura; "won't you have me
for your flock mistress, uncle?"

He laughed, and said he thought not, for she would cry every time any of
her charge were sent to the butcher.

After this Miss Laura and I often went up to the pasture to see the
sheep and the lambs. We used to get into a shady place where they could
not see us, and watch them. One day I got a great surprise about the
sheep. I had heard so much about their meekness that I never dreamed
that they would fight; but it turned out that they did, and they went
about it in such a business-like way, that I could not help smiling at
them. I suppose that like most other animals they had a spice of
wickedness in them. On this day a quarrel arose between two sheep; but
instead of running at each other like two dogs they went a long distance
apart, and then came rushing at each other with lowered heads. Their
object seemed to be to break each other's skull; but Miss Laura soon
stopped them by calling out and frightening them apart. I thought that
the lambs were more interesting than the sheep. Sometimes they fed
quietly by their mothers' sides, and at other times they all huddled
together on the top of some flat rock or in a bare place, and seemed to
be talking to each other with their heads close together. Suddenly one
would jump down, and start for the bushes or the other side of the
pasture. They would all follow pell-mell; then in a few minutes they
would come rushing back again. It was pretty to see them playing
together and having a good time before the sorrowful day of their death
came.

* * * * *

CH