SALTING THE SHEEP

Soon they reached Farmer Brown's. Peter and Polly and John jumped out of the wagon.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Howe," said John.

66

'Good-by, father," said Peter and Polly. Don't forget us when you go home."

66

Farmer Brown came out of the house. 'Well, this is nice," he said. We will play together until your father comes back. What shall we do first?"

"See the sheep, please," said Polly.

Farmer Brown took a bag of coarse salt. Then away they went. Polly and Peter new why he took the salt.

now?

Do you

Sheep like salt more than you like is good for them, too.

The sheen were in ດ pasturo

נם

sugar.

bill

the sheep heard this, they came to him. Perhaps they thought that he had salt for chem.

Soon they had come from all parts of the pasture. They crowded about Farmer Brown. He spread salt on the ground in many places.

The children watched the sheep lick it up. Wag-wag watched them, too. He sat very still. still. He did not run nor bark.

There were big sheep and little lambs.

"Those must be Bo-Peep's sheep," said Polly. "They've left their tails behind them."

" I

"Maybe they are,” replied Farmer Brown. guess I don't know about Bo-Peep."

Some of the sheep had black faces. And there were two black sheep in the flock. Polly put her hand into the wool of one sheep. It felt soft and warm. Next to the skin it was very white. It was dirty on the outside.

The wool was not very long. It had been cut off in the spring. But it was growing every day.

"How often do they have their hair cut?" asked Peter. "I have mine cut very often."

"Just once a year," Farmer Brown told him. Then he said, "Wag-wag is a good dog. He does not frighten the sheep. I am glad he was not the dog that chased hem."

"Why does that hurt the sheen

THE FLOCK OF SHEEP

"Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?"

Yes, sir, yes, sir; three bags full.

One for my master, one for his dame, And one for the little boy who lives in the lane.

Now," said Farmer Brown, "it is just this way. We farmers keep sheep to get wool. Or we keep them to sell for food. "Sometimes bad dogs kill our sheep. From these we cannot get wool or food. Sometimes bad dogs chase our sheep, but do not kill them.

66

Suppose you were a sheep, and a bad dog chased you. How should you feel, Polly?" “I should feel frightened," said Polly.

Yes, and shouldn't you be frightened all the time? You would wonder when that dog was coming again. Every time you heard a noise you would stop eating.

"You would look around for that bad

dog. Even if you couldn't see him, you would think he was surely near.

"After a while, you would be so afraid that any noise would make you run. Do you think that you could grow fat, if you felt like that? Do you think that your wool would grow nice and thick?”

"No," said Polly. "I am sorry that dogs chase sheep. And I am glad that Wag-wag did not do it."

"In

"So am I," said Farmer Brown. the summer the sheep live in the pasture. They eat the grass. Their wool grows and grows. How do you keep warm out of doors in winter?"

"We put on thick coats," said Polly.

"The sheep do the same thing. Their wool has grown so thick during the summer that they have warm coats, too.

"These sheep that you see cannot stay In the snowy fields in winter. fields in winter.

What could

chey find to eat there?

The

grass is dry What could

and it is covered with snow.

Ը