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Transcriber's Note
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of correctionsis found at the end of the text.
"Nannie! Nannie! come and get your breakfast!" P. 16.]
MINNIE and her PETS BY MRS MADELINE LESLIE MINNIE'S PET LAMB.]
MINNIE'S PET LAMB.
BY
MRS. MADELINE LESLIE, AUTHOR OF "THE LESLIE STORIES," "TIM, THE SCISSORS-GRINDER," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 1864.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by
A. R. BAKER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District ofMassachusetts.
ELECTROTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
TO MY YOUNG FRIEND,
HENRY FOWLE DURANT, JR.
=These Little Volumes=
ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED
BY THE AUTHOR,
IN THE EARNEST HOPE THAT THEY MAY INCREASE IN HIM THAT LOVE OF NATURE AND OF RURAL LIFE WHICH HAS EVER EXERTED SO SALUTARY AN INFLUENCE IN THE FORMATION OF THE CHARACTERS OF THE WISE AND GOOD.
MINNIE AND HER PETS.
Minnie's Pet Parrot. Minnie's Pet Cat. Minnie's Pet Dog. Minnie's Pet Horse. Minnie's Pet Lamb. Minnie's Pet Monkey.
MINNIE'S PET LAMB.
CHAPTER I.
NANNIE AND THE PONY.
In another book, about Minnie's pet pony, I have already given you someaccount of Nannie, her pet lamb.
This had all the peculiarities of the South Down, to which breed ofsheep it belonged. It had full, bright, black eyes, a small head, and abrownish-gray face and legs. Its back was straight and wide, and coveredwith fine, short wool, which protected it from the cold.
When Mr. Lee first brought the lamb home, it cried, or bleated,continually. It was placed in a pen close by the stall where Star, theShetland pony, was kept, and, the next day after it came, managed to getover the light railing which separated them, and creep up close to theanimal.
I don't know what Star thought of the little creature; but I suppose hewas pleased to have a companion, for when the hostler went to feed him,he found them on very social terms. After this, the lamb's affection forStar grew so strong that it soon forgot all about its mother and its oldfriends, and gave its whole heart to the new one. The pony returned thelove, and was as kind to his little companion as he could possibly be.He never seemed better pleased than when the lamb was standing quietlyby his side, eating the hay or turnips with which it was fed, or when,its hunger being appeased, it lay down close under his nose, and chewedits cud by the hour together.
At such times, the pony was careful not to step on it, or injure it inany way, but expressed his delight in its society by little shortneighs, which were sometimes answered by a responsive note.
In a few days they understood each other perfectly, and were as wellacquainted, and as fond of each other, as if they had lived together alltheir lives.
Mr. Lee, who was visiting Minnie's pets with his little daughter, said,one morning, it would never do for the lamb to stand in the stall, soclosely confined from the out-door air; and he directed John to turn itout into the barn yard for a few hours every day.
The man did so; but the poor lamb bleated at this separation from itsfriend, until the groom happened to think such a change would do Stargood too.
As soon as the lamb saw the horse coming through the barn door, itstopped crying, and ran toward him just as it would if he had been itsmother.
Star put down his head to his favorite, when the lamb frisked andgambolled about him, occasionally nibbling at his nose, when he wouldstart back, and, thinking this fine fun, would begin to dance again. O,what a pleasant time they did have!
Every morning, Minnie went with her bowl of milk for Nannie, intowhich, as the lamb grew older, she crumbled some pieces of bread. It wasa pretty sight to see the little creature peeping shyly, with its brighteyes, from behind its friend, and then coming a few steps toward her,when she called, in her low, sweet voice,--
"Nannie! Nannie! come and get your breakfast!"
Then she held the bowl down where the lamb could reach to put its mouthin, and laughed to see how much the pretty pet liked the milk.
One morning the lamb had been eating so many turnips that it was notvery hungry; and when Minnie called, it did not obey. In vain the littlegirl called out, in her softest tones, "Nannie, Nannie! come, prettyNannie, and drink your milk."
At last, the child went into the stable to see what was the matter withher pet, and there her father and mother presently found her, stoopingdown on the hay by the side of Star, with the lamb's head in her lap.
"Minnie! Minnie! come out, quick! The horse will kick you," exclaimedher mother, greatly alarmed; but Mr. Lee only laughed, as he said,--
"No, indeed; Star loves his young mistress too much for that. Let thechild be; she is doing well enough."
"But she will soil her clothes, and get her shoes covered with dirt,"urged the lady, still looking anxious.
"O, mamma!" cried Minnie, "I'm in a real clean place on this straw, andNannie likes to lick my hand. How funny Star is looking round to seewhat I am doing to his friend."
A few hours later, when Mrs. Lee sat with her sewing in the back parlor,the little girl ran into the room, and taking a cricket, pulled ittoward her mother, saying,--
"I want you to tell me all you know about sheep and lambs. Can they dosuch wonderful things, as dogs, and horses, and cats can?"
The lady laughed. "I am afraid," she began, "that you would not besatisfied with what little I can tell you; for I confess that I knowvery little about them. You had better wait till your father comes home,for he has been studying a good many books on that subject, and haslearned about the different kinds, with a view to buying a flock.
"Or you can ask Anne; for she was brought up in a shepherd's family, andcan tell you all about the way they bring up little lambs when theirmothers will not own them."
"'Not own them,' mamma! What can you mean? I thought mothers alwaysowned their little children."
"Sometimes a ewe, as they call the mother, has two or three lambs at atime; and perhaps she thinks she could not nurse them all, and so shechooses one or two that she will take care of, and when the other comesnear her, she butts it softly with her head. The lamb knows then thatshe will not take care of it; and the little forsaken creature begins tocry, Anne says, 'for all the world just like a little baby.'"
"And what do the people do for it?" inquired Minnie, tears filling hereyes.
"Why, they take it away from the flock, and 'bring it up by hand,' asthey call it; that is, they feed it with milk, and it learns to lovethe one who takes care of it, and follows her about wherever she goes,just like a little dog. Anne will tell you all about it."
"She is busy now. I heard her tell cook she wanted to give your chambera thorough cleaning to-day. Can't you remember something more?"
"You know that gentleman, Mr. Sullivan, who comes here sometimes withyour father. He is what is called a practical shepherd; that is, heknows all about the habits of sheep, from having been brought up withthem. He understands the different breeds, and knows which are the bestfor wool;
and which, for mutton; and what kinds of food are best forthem. I have heard your father say that he had gained a great deal ofinformation from Mr. Sullivan, which he could not get from books. Ithink he will visit us again before long; and I advise you to save allyour difficult questions for him to answer."
"If father buys a flock, will he keep them on his farm?" asked thechild.
"O, no, dear! Sheep like to roam over the hills, and browse on thebushes and moss. They can find a very good living where a cow wouldsuffer from hunger."
At this moment, Anne appeared at the door, to ask her mistress aquestion, and Minnie took the opportunity to tell her that she wanted tohear about raising little lambs.
"I'll be pleased enough to tell you, miss," answered the woman, smiling."I've had a dale to do with sheep, and lambs, too, in my younger days,and many's the little cosset I've brought up by hand, when the poorcratur would otherwise have died."