 |
| Sooo cute! |
the lamb was sure to go.
It
followed her to school one day
which was against the rules.
It
made the children laugh and play,
to see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
but still it lingered near,
And
waited patiently about,
till Mary did appear.
“Why
does the lamb love Mary so?”
the eager children cry.
“Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.”
the teacher did reply.
Okay, so…first off, as a child, I always wanted a lamb for a pet.
True story.
I just wanted to get that out there.
On with our poem…
The first lines say that Mary’s lamb had a fleece as white as snow.
Now I’ve seen lambs. And their fleeces are never that white. In point of fact, they are usually rather gray. Or downright mud-coloured.
Moving on…
The next part talks about that lamb following Mary everywhere.
I reiterate. I wanted a little lamb with soft fleece who would follow me everywhere.
Just sayin’.
Then we are to the part where that sparkling, clean lamb followed Mary to school. Now I could totally get behind this.
Lambs at school would definitely have made the days a little less…I don’t know…scholastic? And a lot more fun.
But, let’s face it, me having a lamb follow me to school would be no small feat as we lived 20 miles from town and rode the bus! He would either have to be a superbly nimble little creature or I would have to get a lot better at hiding things that weren’t supposed to be on a bus with 20 or so children aged 5 to 17.
I did make it all the way with a snake in my pocket once, but that is another story.
And I digress…
So this teacher, whoever she was, got tired of the chaos and turned that little lamb out.
Now what does she have against laughing, playing children?
Kill joy.
But that little lamb was not only sparkling clean, it was also smart. (We are talking fiction, here.) It hung around patiently until it was time for Mary to go home.
I’m picturing the joyous ramble as the two headed off to familiar pastures for the day.
Happy girl. Happy lamb.
Now the laughing, playing (see above) kids, witnessing this, had a question for their teacher. “Why does the lamb love Mary so?”
And the teacher had a ready response, “Because Mary loves the lamb, you know.”
Now, I probably don’t have to tell you that all of this was in my (Please, May I Have a Lamb?) presentation to my father.
But I’m quite sure you’ve heard of the sometimes animosity between the sheepherders and the cattle ranchers of the great prairies of the ‘west’.
And I don’t have to tell you which side my Daddy was on…
My chances of getting lamb for a pet were slim to nil.
But that didn’t stop me dreaming…
He even met the Queen!
She took him when she went to school
He sat there on the bus.
The children would politely play,
And never made a fuss.
The teacher understood that Di
Needed 'Lambie' near,
To help her with her algebra,
And chemistry. (The dear!)
The lambie loved Diane, you know,
The children saw that she
Also loved the little lamb
Up to the nth degree!
Sigh.
