Great was her delight when, after weeks of careful feeding and watching, her little patient began to grow well and strong. Soon after this it was able to run about. It knew its own mistress perfectly, always came at her call, and was happy only when at her side.

One day it followed her to the village school, and, not knowing what else to do with it, she put it under her desk and covered it with her shawl. There it staid until Mary was called up to the teacher's desk to say her lesson, when the lamb walked quietly after her. The other children burst out laughing. So the teacher had to shut the little girl's pet in the woodshed until school was out.

Soon after this, a young student, named John Rollstone, wrote a little poem about Mary and her lamb, and presented it to her. The lamb grew to be a sheep, and lived for many years. When at last it died, Mary grieved so much for it, that her mother took some of its wool, which was "white as snow," and knitted a pair of stockings for her to wear in remembrance of her darling.

Some years after the lamb's death, Mrs. Sarah Hall, a celebrated woman who wrote books, composed some verses about Mary's lamb, and added them to those written by John Rollstone, making the complete poem as we know it. Mary

took such good care of the stockings made of her lamb's fleece, that when she was a grown woman she gave one of them to a church fair in Boston.

As soon as it became known that the stocking was made from the fleece of "Mary's little lamb," every one wanted a piece of it. So the stocking was raveled out, and the yarn cut into short pieces. Each piece was tied to a card on which Mary wrote her full name, and these cards sold so well that they brought the large sum of one hundred and forty dollars.

50. SHEEP AND GOATS.

As the story of Cinderella and the Slipper teaches something about human nature, so the story of Mary and her lamb shows something about both human and sheep nature. The sheep is the most helpless and defenseless of all the domestic animals. Except for the kindness and care of little Mary the lamb must have perished.

During many hundreds and even thousands of years, sheep have been kept by shepherds. They have depended upon the shepherd to find their feeding places. In this way the sheep family have lost the wit which belongs to animals that are obliged to search for their own food.

They have also looked to the shepherd for protection from their enemies. This has caused them to grow stupid.

The dog defends himself with his teeth; the kitten scratches up a tree where the dog can not catch her; the cow drives the dog before her lowered horns; the horse punishes his foes with

his hoofs; and the antelope darts away from its enemy like an arrow. But the poor sheep can neither run nor fight. It has lost both the weapons and the courage necessary for defense. The ewe can not protect her lamb. When in trouble, the shepherd, or the sheep-dog, or some kind Mary must bring her help.

Sheep are so timid that, when they are alarmed, they only huddle together. Those in the middle of the crowd alone feel safe. They are afraid of strangers. They trust none but their own shepherd. "They hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers."

There are many kinds of sheep. The most ancient family, descended from the sheep of the patriarchs, is the Merino. The Merino is small, weighing about eighty pounds. Its wool is short, very fine, and lies in folds or ruffles about the body. Its fleece will weigh from seven to fifteen pounds. The Merino ram has large, spiral horns. This family is called "fine-wooled sheep," and comes to us from Spain.

The Southdown is a middle-wooled sheep, and is famous for its mutton. It weighs twice as much as the Merino, produces a less weight of wool, and is without horns. Its head and legs are nearly black. The Leicester and Cotswold are long-wooled sheep. They weigh more than the Southdown, and when in full fleece, appear very large. Their fleece is coarse, and is not so heavy as is that of the Merino. These large

sheep have white faces and are hornless. All the large sheep originated in England.

The tame sheep has some strange wild cousins. One of these is the Big-horn of the Rocky Mountains. There is much hair mixed with the very short wool of these sheep. They are good climbers and jumpers, and their flesh is excellent. The male

may weigh three hundred aud fifty pounds. His horns are large, each measuring around the curve more than two feet.

The Musk sheep or Musk ox, of Arctic America, is a little larger than a Cotswold sheep. Its long, hairy coat is fine, and is used by the Esquimos for various purposes. The flesh is much like venison, and is not strong in the flavor of musk. Musk sheep live in small herds and feed upon mosses and grasses. The herd places a sentinel on duty, who stamps and snorts when danger is near.

It is easy to see that goats are different from