Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom

by Samuel G. Goodrich

THE SHEEP.

Of this useful creature there are many varieties, all of which are supposed to have sprung from the argali, which is found in Asia, Europe, and America.

Anecdotes.—The house of the celebrated Dr. Cotton, of Massachusetts, stood on an eminence, with a garden sloping down in front, filled with fruit-trees. At the foot of the garden was a fence, and in a straight line with the fence was an old well-curb. Mr. Cotton kept a great many sheep, and one day these uneasy creatures took it into their heads to get a taste of their master's fruit. But the minister had another mind about the matter, and sallied out to chastise the marauders. These were very much alarmed; and, according to their usual habit, all followed their leader to escape. The well-curb being the lowest part of the barrier which presented itself to the retreating animal, over he leaped, and down he went to the very bottom of the well, and after him came several of his followers, till it was in danger of being choked up by the silly sheep. Dr. Cotton leaped over the barrier himself, and prevented the rest from destruction. As for those in the well, they humbly stretched out their forefeet to their master, and bleated piteously, as if petitioning him to release them. "Don't be in haste," quietly replied the good pastor: "wait patiently till I go to the house for a rope—then I will try to save you." He was as good as his word; he fastened the rope around their bodies, and drew them one by one out of the water.

"There are few things," says Hogg, "more amusing than a sheep-shearing. We send out all the lambs to the hill, and then, as fast as the ewes are shorn, we send them to find their young ones. The moment that a lamb hears its dam's voice, it rushes from the crowd to meet her; but instead of finding the rough, well-clad, comfortable mamma, which it left a few hours ago, it meets a poor, naked, shivering, most deplorable-looking creature. It wheels about, and, uttering a loud, tremulous bleat of despair, flies from the frightful vision. The mother's voice arrests its flight—it returns—flies and returns again—generally for a dozen times, before the reconciliation is fairly made up."

The following pleasing anecdote of the power of music is given by the celebrated Haydn: "In my early youth," says he, "I went with some other young people equally devoid of care, one morning during the extreme heat of summer, to seek for coolness and fresh air on one of the lofty mountains which surround the Lago Maggiore, in Lombardy. Having reached the middle of the ascent by daybreak, we stopped to contemplate the Borromean Isles, which were displayed under our feet, in the middle of the lake, when we were surrounded by a large flock of sheep, which were leaving their fold to go to the pasture.

"One of our party, who was no bad performer on the flute, and who always carried the instrument with him, took it out of his pocket. 'I am going,' said he, 'to turn Corydon; let us see whether Virgil's sheep will recognize their pastor.' He began to play. The sheep and goats, which were following one another towards the mountain, with their heads hanging down, raised them at the first sound of the flute, and all, with a general and hasty movement, turned to the side from whence the agreeable noise proceeded. They gradually flocked round the musician, and listened with motionless attention. He ceased playing, and the sheep did not stir.

"The shepherd with his staff now obliged them to move on; but no sooner did the fluter begin again to play, than his innocent auditors again returned to him. The shepherd, out of patience, pelted them with clods of earth, but not one of them would move. The fluter played with additional skill; the shepherd fell into a passion, whistled, scolded, and pelted the poor creatures with stones. Such as were hit by them began to march, but the others still refused to stir. At last, the shepherd was forced to entreat our Orpheus to stop his magic sounds; the sheep then moved off, but continued to stop at a distance as often as our friend resumed the agreeable instrument.

"The tune he played was nothing more than a favorite air, at that time performing at the Opera in Milan. As music was our continual employment, we were delighted with our adventure; we reasoned upon it the whole day, and concluded that physical pleasure is the basis of all interest in music."

A gentleman, while passing through a lonely district of the Highlands, observed a sheep hurrying towards the road before him, and bleating most piteously. On approaching nearer, it redoubled its cries, looked in his face, and seemed to implore his assistance. He alighted, left his gig, and followed the sheep to a field in the direction whence it came. There, in a solitary cairn, at a considerable distance from the road, the sheep halted, and the traveller found a lamb completely wedged in betwixt two large stones of the cairn, and struggling feebly with its legs uppermost. He instantly extricated the sufferer, and placed it on the greensward, while the mother poured forth her thanks and joy in a long-continued and significant strain.

THE OX.