1 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: Welcome, sleep tight stories why the sheep ran away. It 2 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: was during the hottest summer weather that the windstorm came. 3 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: The farmyard people always spoke of it as the windstorm, 4 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: because not even the blind horse, who had lived on 5 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: the farm longer than any of his neighbors, could remember 6 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: anything like it. I recall one time he said, when 7 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: a sweet apple tree was blown down in the fall, 8 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: the hogs found it and ate all the fruit before 9 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: the farmer knew that it was down. You should have 10 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: heard them grunt over it. They were afraid the farmer 11 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:23,559 Speaker 1: would drive them away before they had eaten at all. Yeh, well, 12 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: they ate all they wanted. But one of the pigs 13 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: told me afterward that it made them sick, and that 14 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: he never wanted to see another sweet apple as long 15 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: as he lived. That was a hard storm, but not 16 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: like this, Not like this. It had come in the 17 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: night when the farmyard people were asleep, and there was 18 00:01:53,440 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: much scampering to shelter. The fowls who were roosting in 19 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: the old apple tree did not have time to oil 20 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: their feathers and make them waterproof. They just flew off 21 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: their perches as fast as they could and ran for 22 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: the open door of the henhouse. When they were once inside, 23 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: they ruffled up their feathers and shook themselves to get 24 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: rid of the rain drops. Fowls do not like wet weather, 25 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: and it upsets them very much to be in the rain. 26 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: Their neighbors know this so well that it has become 27 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: their custom to say of an angry person that he 28 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: is as mad as a wet hen. The cows were 29 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: in their part of the barn, so there was nothing 30 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: for them to do but to keep still and think 31 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: of those who were outdoors. Horses were in their comfortable stalls. 32 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: They had been working hard all day, and the farmer 33 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 1: had gotten a good supper of oats ready for them 34 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,079 Speaker 1: so that they could eat quickly and go to sleep 35 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: instead of staying awake and walking around to get their 36 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 1: own suppers in the pasture. Out in the meadow, the 37 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: sheep huddled close together under a low branching tree and 38 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: stood still until the storm passed. They had been so 39 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: warm that the cool rain made them comfortable, but the 40 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: wind pushed them and swayed the branches of the trees. 41 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: The loud thunder made the lambs jump. They liked the 42 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: lightning and made a game out of it, each one 43 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: and telling what he had seen. By the last flash, 44 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: the clouds too were beautiful, and flew across the sky 45 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: like great dark birds, dropping now and then shining worms 46 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: from their beaks. At last, the air became cool and clear, 47 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: and the clouds flew far away toward the east. Next 48 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: the stars peeped out, first one, then two, then six, 49 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:43,920 Speaker 1: then twenty, and then so many that you could not 50 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: have counted them, more than the leaves on a maple tree, 51 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: more than the grass blades of the meadow. The sheep 52 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: ran around a little to shake off the drops and 53 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: warmed themselves. Then they huddled down again to sleep. When 54 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: the sun rose in the eastern sky, his warm beams 55 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: fell upon the sheep and awakened them. How cool and 56 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,799 Speaker 1: beautiful a day, they said, What a morning for a run? 57 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,480 Speaker 1: I can beat you to the tall grass, called one 58 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: little lamb to the rest, and they all scampered around 59 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 1: the field, throwing up their heels for joy. They had 60 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: been away from their mothers for a while and had 61 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: learned to eat grass instead of milk. They were quite 62 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,239 Speaker 1: proud of the way in which they broke it off, 63 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: with quick upward jerks of their heads, and their teeth 64 00:05:54,240 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: were growing finely. They did not expect any upper front teeth, 65 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: for in place of them, the sheep have only a 66 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: hard pad of flesh. Soon they came running back to 67 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: the flock. There's a dog over there, they cried, A 68 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 1: strange dog. He doesn't look like Collie. He's coming this way, 69 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: and we are afraid. Their uncle, the bell Weather, looked 70 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: over toward the strange dog, then turned quickly and began 71 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: to run. The bell around his neck clinked at every step. 72 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: When the other sheep heard the bell, they raised their 73 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: heads and ran after him, and the lambs ran after them. 74 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 1: The strange dog did not follow or even bark at them. 75 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: Yet on they went, shaking the shining rain drops from 76 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: the grass as they trod upon it. Not one of 77 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: them was thinking for himself what he really ought to do. 78 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: The bell Weather thought, I feel like running away from 79 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: the dog, and so I will run. The other sheep 80 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: said to themselves, the bell Weather is running, and so 81 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: we will run. And the lamb said, if they are 82 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: all running, we will run along the fence. They went, 83 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: their bell clinking, their hoofs pattering, and not one of 84 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: them thinking for himself until they reached a place where 85 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: the fence was blown over. It was not blown all 86 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: the way down, but leaned so that it could be jumped. 87 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: If a single one of the flock, even the youngest lamb, 88 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 1: had said, don't jump, they would have stayed in the pasture. 89 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: But nobody said it. The bell Weather felt like jumping over, 90 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: so he jumped. Then the sheep did as the bell 91 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: wether had done, and the lambs did as the sheep 92 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:34,080 Speaker 1: had done. Now they were on the road, and the 93 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: Bellweather turned away from the farmhouse and ran on, with 94 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:46,199 Speaker 1: the sheep and the lambs following. Even now, if anybody 95 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:52,679 Speaker 1: had said stop, they would have stopped, for they knew 96 00:08:52,679 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: that they were doing wrong, but nobody said it. After 97 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: a while, a heavy wagon came rumbling down the road 98 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: behind them, and the bellwether jumped over a ditch and 99 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: ran into a hilly field with woodland behind. Because he went, 100 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: the sheep did, and because the sheep went, the lambs did, 101 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 1: and nobody said stop. You see, by this time they 102 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: were very badly frightened, and no wonder when they saw 103 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: the strange dog, they were a little scared, for they 104 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: thought he might chase them. If they had made themselves 105 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: stay there and act brave, they would have soon felt brave. 106 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: Even if the dog had been a bad one, they 107 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: could have kept him from hurting them, for sheep have 108 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:02,559 Speaker 1: been given very strong, hard foreheads with which to bump with, 109 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: and the bell Weather had also long curled horns with 110 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 1: three ridges on the side of each. But it is 111 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: with sheep, and as it is with other people, if 112 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: they let themselves be frightened, they grow more and more fearful, 113 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: even when there is no real danger. And now all 114 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: of their trouble came from their not stopping to think 115 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: what they ought to do. They hurried up to the 116 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: highest ground in the field, and when they were there 117 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: and could go no farther, they stopped and looked at 118 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 1: each other. One lamb said to his mother, why did 119 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: we come here? It isn't nearly so nice as our meadow. 120 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: Why I came because the bell wether did, she answered. 121 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: Then she turned to the bell Weather and said, why 122 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: did you bring us here? I didn't bring you here, 123 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: he replied, I felt like coming, and I came. I 124 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: didn't make you follow. No, answered the sheep, But you 125 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: might have known that if you came, the sheep would come, well, 126 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,959 Speaker 1: said the bell weather. You might have known that if 127 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: you sheep came, the lambs would, so you'd better not 128 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: say anything. Bell cried the lambs. We are hot and thirsty, 129 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,640 Speaker 1: and there isn't any water here to drink. We want 130 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: to go back. Everybody was out of patience with somebody else, 131 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: and nobody was comfortable. They did not dare try to 132 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: go home again, for fear they would have more trouble. 133 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: So they huddled together on the top of the hill 134 00:12:02,679 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 1: and were very miserable and unhappy. They didn't have any 135 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,200 Speaker 1: good reason for coming, and they could not even have 136 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: told you why they ran to the hilltop instead of 137 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:23,000 Speaker 1: saying in the pleasant hollow below. There was a reason 138 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: for their running up, however, although they didn't know it, 139 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: it was because their great great great great great great 140 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 1: grandfather and grandmother were wild sheep in the mountains, and 141 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: when frightened ran up among the rocks where there was 142 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,880 Speaker 1: no one to hurt them. They got into the habit 143 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: of running up hill when scared, and their children did 144 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: the same, and their children's children did the same, and 145 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: now even the far armyard sheep do so. Although they 146 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: long ago forgot the reason why woo whoo rang out 147 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: on the still morning air. There's Collie, cried the lambs joyfully. 148 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 1: He's coming to take us home. Let's bleed to help 149 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 1: him find us more quickly. All the lambs said bah 150 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: be in their high, soft voices, and their mother said 151 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: be be more loudly, and the bell Weather added his ber, 152 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: which was so deep and strong that it sounded like 153 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: a little, very little clap of thunder. Collie came frisking 154 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: along with his tail waving and his eyes gleaming. He 155 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: started the flock home and scolded them all the way, 156 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: but they were now so happy that they didn't care 157 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:09,720 Speaker 1: what he said. When they were safely in the home 158 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: meadow again and the farmer had mended the fence, Colly 159 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: left them. As he turned to go, he called back 160 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: one last piece of advice. I'm a shepherd dog, he said, 161 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: and it's my work to take care of the sheep 162 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: when they can't take care of themselves. But I'd just 163 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: like to be a bell weather for a little while. 164 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: You wouldn't catch me doing every silly thing I felt 165 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: like doing, and getting all the flock into trouble by 166 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: following me. Nobody can do anything without somebody else doing 167 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: it too, and I wouldn't lead people into trouble and 168 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: then say I didn't think the bell. Weather grumbled to himself, Well, 169 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: the rest needn't tag along unless they want to pity 170 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: if I can. I can't jump a fence without everybody following. 171 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: But down in his heart he felt a little sad, 172 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: for he knew that one who leads should do right things, 173 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: and he decided to do better next time.