The TRUE Story of Mary and Her Little Lamb
as retold by Elsie Eunice Sawyer
In the year 1806, there was born in Massachusetts, a tiny
baby-girl. This little baby was named Mary Sawyer.
When Mary was old enough to toddle about she like
to go to the barn with her father.
One cold March morning Mary went as usual to the barn. After
the cows and horses had been fed, she went to the sheep-pen,
and what do you think she found? Two little baby lambs,
which had been born in the night. One was a nice,
plump, healthy little lambkin, but the other was a poor, frail
little creature.
The first had won all its mother's love and care, while the
other had been left to die of cold and hunger. Mary's
loving little heart went out to the poor forlorn lambkin.
She asked her father to let her take it to the house but he
said, "No, let it stay where it is; it can live but a
little while." Mary, however, couldn't bear to see the
poor little thing suffer, so she begged and begged until at
last her father yielded.
All day long Mary sat beside the fireplace holding
her new pet in her arms, and nursing it back to life.
When night came it could swallow just a little, and oh, how
pleased she was! But she did not dare leave it for fear it
would get cold and die; so she sat up through the long hours
of the night caring for her precious lambkin.
In the morning, to her delight, the little lamb could stand.
It soon learned to drink milk; and from that time it gained
rapidly. It was not long before it followed her all over the
farm. Mary grew very fond of her pet and took as much
care of it as a mother would of a child. Every day
she washed it, picked the burdocks out of its feet, and combed
and trimmed with ribbon the wool on its forehead. Then they
would skip over the fields and meadows together, and were,
in fact companions and fast friends.
Mary did not have many little girls, or even dolls, to play
with as she lived in the country on a big farm, so she
used to dress up her little lamb in pantalettes, and
also had a blanket for it. But the time soon came when Mary
was old enough to go to school, and her little lamb went to
pasture with the other lambs.
Every morning before starting for school she said good-bye
to her pet but one morning the lamb was not in sight, so she
called loudly. Soon she heard a faint bleating far down the
field. Clearer and clearer came the sound and she knew that
the lamb was following her.
Now, with Mary was her brother Nathaniel, who, like
all boys, was fond of fun. He said, "Let's take the lamb
to school with us." Of course Mary thought this
would be a good plan. There was a high stone wall to climb,
and it was rather hard work to get the lamb over. However,
it seemed to understand and was very patient, and waited quietly
for them to lift it over the wall. When they reached the schoolhouse
the teacher had not arrived and only a few of the scholars
were there. Mary took her pet to her own seat and
covered it with a blanket - you know they had old fashioned,
high, boarded-up seats in that long ago time.
At last the bell rang and the children came in to their lessons.
By and by Mary went forward to recite, leaving the little
lamb in her seat, but soon there came a patter of little hoofs
and Mary knew that her pet was following her. Oh, how badly
she felt!
The teacher, who was Miss Polly Kimball, loved her
rosy-cheeked boys and girls, so she let them have a good laugh.
Then she made Mary shut the lamb in a shed until
she was ready to go home at noon. Mary and her brother did
not usually go home until night, as they carried their lunch
but that day she was only too glad to go, and take the lamb
her.
Now it happened that a young man by name of John
Roulstone, visited the school that morning. He lived
with his uncle, the Reverend Lemuel Capen. It was the custom
in those days for students to prepare for college by studying
with some minister, so John Roulstone was studying with his
uncle.
He was so amused by the lamb's visit at school that
he went home and wrote about it. The next morning
he rode on horseback to the school and gave Mary a slip of
paper, on which he written these three stanzas:
Mary had a little lamb;
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule;
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.
This is the little poem as Mary received that long ago time
at the little red schoolhouse in Sterling town. (go
to next page)
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