Hello my fellow Woolbearers!
O raaaam, we surely had a lovely time this Christmas.
First we looked at the photos Maa had made from the christmas market in Cologne. We sheep couldn’t go because it was shnooooowing so baaadly that it would have ended in shneezles! And we don’t want shneezles for Christmas!Â
Look here, what a shnooow:
Snow snow snow in Cologne
 There was a place called ‘Wintergasse’ where ewe were able to buy… well, I think ewe can have a guess…
brrrrrr...!
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Later they came to a lovely carrousel, and there was a white horse called Rex, and a black horse called King! I wonder if they reign together *giggle*
Rex
King
on Christmas Eve, Maa decorated the Christmas Tree. It is very beautiful, and the cats like it very much, too.
we wish ewe a meowy christmas!
Everyone had a good christmas cuddle and we gathered around the Christmas Tree, and even had our photo taken 🙂
Flocking around the Christmas Tree
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Later even Mephi came to join us, even though he’s a pretty shy cat and usually doesn’t like too much partying. Maaaybe it was because Maahley and Molly had the great idea to put some kabibbles out and Mephi didn’t want to leave it all to Findus!
hello Mephi!
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After the photosession Maa’s Baa wanted to watch the Christmas Concert on teevee, but Findus was not too impressed.
Oh, and Molly wanted to have her photo taken with a specially nice looking tangerine.
They are both very beautiful 🙂
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And then, at shleeping time, old Schaf settled to tell us the story of the little lamb that went to search for a special shepherd.
I think I shall write it down for ewes 🙂
It is a very old story and has been told from one generaaation of sheeeep to the other. Here goes:
Many, many years ago, in a little valley not far from a little town, lived a little lamb called Beenny. Beenny lived happily with his Maaa and Baaaa and aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters and many many cousins.
They were a very happy flock, they always had lovely greens to eat, the valley was a good place to live for sheep, the sheepdog, his name was Rudy, never bit any of them, and the shepherds were nice people who never neglected or forgot them. But the shepherds were always sad. They never ever smiled!
That was the one thing that worried Beenny, and one evening at bed time he asked Rudy why the shepherds always looked so sad when they talked about their family and the little town where they came from.
Rudy scratched his ear with his hind paw for a while. ‘Well’, he said, ‘you see I think it’s because they don’t have a shepherd.’ ‘Baaah!’ Said Beenny, ‘they are humaaaans, they don’t neeeed a shepherd!’ ‘Oh humbug,’ said Rudy, ‘every living thing needs a good shepherd.’ And with that, Rudy turned around and started snoring.
‘Oh I see’ said little Beenny. ‘Maybe I should go and find a gooood shepherd for my humaaaans. Maybe there is one in the little town and only they never noticed him. A goood shepherd isn’t the loudest humaaan. Nor the one with the brightest clothes. Yes, that’s it, there must be one, they just never noticed.’
Beenny wandered off towards the little town that lay in the valley. There were a lot of people there. He had been there before, but never had he seen that many people! There were people everywhere, in every house, he saw some sleeping on the roofs, and some camping in the streets.
‘Aah’ said Beenny, ‘with so many people, there must be a shepherd for my humaaans here.’ He walked up to one of the men in the tents and asked him: ‘are ewe the Shepherd of my shepherds?’ But the man did not understand. All he heard was ‘baahbaahbeeh?’ ‘Hello!’ he said, ‘you are a lovely lamb. Come and stay for dinner!’ Beenny did not like the look in the man’s eyes when he said that and ran off.
Beenny walked from one of the humaaans he saw to the other, always asking the same question: ‘are ewe the Shepherd of my shepherds?’ But the people did not understand what he said. All they heard was ‘baahbaaah beeh?’
After a while, Beenny felt very sad, and tired, and hungry. He wanted to go home. But somehow in all the hustle and bustle he had lost his way. He felt very very lonely. He felt his whole idea must have been very very stupid. Only because somewhere were a lot of people that doesn’t mean there would be the one one is looking for.
‘Hey little one’ he heard someone say and looked around. It was an old donkey. ‘Don’t you think you are a little far from your flock?’ ‘oooh baaaaah’, said little Beenny,’ I think I am lost. I tried to find a shepherd for my shepherds, because everyone needs a shepherd, but nobody understands me. And now I cannot find my way home.’ ‘Poor little lamb’ said the donkey, ‘ I don’t know the way to your flock, but I can take you to my stable for the rest of the night. There are some people there, too, but there should still be room for a little lamb like you.’ ‘Why are there people in your stable?’ asked Beenny. ‘come to think of it, why are there so maaaaany people everywhere? I have been here before, but usually there are far more sheeeep here than people.’
‘Oh they are being counted’ said the donkey. ‘Counted?’ asked Beenny. ‘Do they have to jump over a fence and someone says one, two, three, a lot?’ Oh no no no, I ‘m afraid not. That would be funny to see. No they have to go to a house and say their name and who their parents are and then they are being counted. You see, they are humans. They always have to complicate the easiest things.’ ‘Oh I see’ said Beenny. ‘and the ones that are at your stable are here to be counted, too? Are they good people? Maybe one of them is the shepherd I am looking for?
‘I don’t think anyone of them is a shepherd,’ the donkey said. ‘But they are a nice couple. The man is a carpenter, and his wife will be having a baby. Too bad they had to travel all the way here. There was no more room anywhere, so they ended up in my stable. I went to try and find a blanket, because the baby will need something warm when it arrives. But I didnt find one’. ‘That is saaad’ Beeny said. ‘I have been shorn only once yet, but my shepherd maade a lovely little blanket out of my wool. I wish it was here, then I could give it to ewe for the baby’.
Together they trotted to the donkey’s stable that stood right at the end of the little town. ‘Ewe know what? Said Beenny, ‘I am not a blanket, but I can give them some of my wool. It’s waaaarm and soft!’ ‘You are a very nice little lamb, Beenny’ said the donkey.
When they approached the stable they saw that it was bathed in a beautiful bright light, and there was wonderful music in the air. But the best thing Beenny could see, was that his flock was there! There was his Maaa and his Baaa and all his sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles and cousins, and his shepherds, and Rudy was there, too. He was so happy to see them!
‘Beenjamin Baalthasar Sheep!’ Rudy said. ‘where have you been? We had all been looking for ewe when the man in the bright light appeared and said we should come here to see the new king!’
‘Aw.’ said Beenny. ‘The new king? That’s soo saad. I was hoping I could find the Shepherd for our shepherds here. But it is only a king.’ ‘Oh humbug’ said Rudy. ‘king is what the shepherds call their shepherd. But you really shouldn’t leave the flock like that. We have all been very worried about you, little one. So now go and have a look at the new king. He’s in there, in the stable.’
Beenny tiptoed through all the sheep into the stable, and there he saw a happy father and a happy mother and a tiny little baby in a manger. When he walked up to the baby he said ‘are ewe the Shepherd of my shepherds?’ and the baby looked at him and giggled and reached out with his little hand. ‘Oh yes’ said Beeny. ‘Ewe are the Shepherd of my shepherds. And mine, too.’ And just when he wanted to offer the father his wool to keep the baby warm, his shepherd walked up and gave the mother a little blanket. ‘Take this to keep the baby warm’ he said, ‘it has been made with the first wool of our tiniest lamb, this one here, our little Benjamin!’
And the mother took the blanket and wrapped the little baby in it. Everyone was very happy, but the happiest was the little lamb who lay next to the manger and watched his shepherds and saw them smile.
We wish ewes all a very Merry Christmas! Fleece Navidad!
ewers truly,
Baaton Wooller and all flockmembers 🙂
Baaton's Baahs 