Among the Farmyard People | Page 4

look.
The birds who were there say that the Swallow seemed quite disgusted,

and surely nobody could blame him if he did.
"You must excuse them," cooed their mother. "They are really hardly
more than Squabs yet, and I can't bear to speak severely to them. I'm
sure they didn't mean to be rude."
"Certainly, certainly," said the Swallow. "I will excuse them and you
must excuse me. I wish to see a few of my old friends before the sun
goes down. Good afternoon!" And he darted away.
The young Doves came pattering back, swaying their heads as they
walked. "Why, where is the Swallow?" they cried. "What made him go
away? Right at the best part of the story, too. We don't see why folks
are so disagreeable. People never are as nice to us as they are to the
other young Doves."
"Hush," said their mother. "You mustn't talk in that way. Fly off for
something to eat, and never mind about the rest of the story."
When they were gone, she said to her husband, "I wonder if they did
hurt the Swallow's feelings? But then, they are so young, hardly more
than Squabs."
She forgot that even Squabs should be thoughtful of others, and that no
Dove ever amounts to anything unless he begins in the right way as a
Squab.

THE LAMB WITH THE LONGEST TAIL
The Sheep are a simple and kind-hearted family, and of all the people
on the farm there are none who are more loved than they. All summer
they wander in the fields, nibbling the fresh, sweet grass, and resting at
noon in the shadow of the trees, but when the cold weather comes they
are brought up to the farmyard and make their home in the long low
Sheep-shed.
That is always a happy time. The Horses breathe deeply and toss their

heads for joy, the Cows say to each other, "Glad to have the Sheep
come up," and even the Oxen shift their cuds and look long over their
shoulders at the woolly newcomers. And this is not because the Sheep
can do anything for their neighbors to make them warm or to feed them.
It is only because they are a gentle folk and pleasant in all they say; and
you know when people are always kind, it makes others happy just to
see them and have them near.
Then, when the cold March winds are blowing, the good farmer brings
more yellow straw into the Sheep-shed, and sees that it is warm and
snug. If there are any boards broken and letting the wind in, he mends
them and shuts out the cold. At this time, too, the Horses and Cattle
stop often in their eating to listen. Even the Pigs, who do not think
much about their neighbors, root in the corners nearest the Sheep-shed
and prick up their ears.
Some bleak morning they hear a faint bleating and know that the first
Lamb is there. And then from day to day they hear more of the soft
voices as the new Lambs come to live with the flock. Such queer little
creatures as the Lambs are when they first come--so weak and awkward!
They can hardly stand alone, and stagger and wobble around the little
rooms or pens where they are with their mothers. You can just imagine
how hard it must be to learn to manage four legs all at once!
There is one thing which they do learn very quickly, and that is, to eat.
They are hungry little people, and well they may be, for they have
much growing to do, and all of the food that is to be made into good
stout bodies and fine long wool has to go into their mouths and down
their throats to their stomachs. It is very wonderful to think that a Cow
eats grass and it is turned into hair to keep her warm, a Goose eats grass
and grows feathers, and a Sheep eats grass and grows wool. Still, it is
so, and nobody in the world can tell why. It is just one of the things that
are, and if you should ask "Why?" nobody could tell you the reason.
There are many such things which we cannot understand, but there are
many more which we can, so it would be very foolish for us to mind
when there is no answer to our "Why?"
Yes, Sheep eat grass, and because they have such tiny mouths they

have to take small mouthfuls. The Lambs have different food for a
while,--warm milk from their mothers' bodies. When a mother has a
Lamb to feed, she eats a great deal, hay, grass, and chopped turnips,
and then part of the food that goes