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The Little Lost Sheep
by Caitlynn Lowe There once was a sheep named Wooly. He was an agile young animal, with black wool and blue eyes. He was the only sheep in the entire Shepherd's flock with blue eyes, and everyone always told him how handsome they made him look. As a result, Wooly became proud and often treated his fellow sheep arrogantly. He even began to think that he knew better than the Shepherd did, and started to disobey him more frequently than ever before. One day, as they were heading towards the green pastures, the flock came upon two paths. The first path was straight and very narrow; they would have to travel single-file, and uphill. The second path was wide and weaved all over the place. Surely, the second path would have been the more enjoyable journey. Yet much to the sheeps' dismay, the Shepherd told them to start walking down the narrow path. They were all very confused, but they trusted in their Shepherd to lead them safely to the pastures, and so they all listened to him and started on the narrow road; that is, all but one. Wooly was too stubborn to listen, and the wide path looked so much easier. He hid behind a bush, and when the others had all left, he started down the wide road. At first, the wide path seemed very pleasant. The dirt was soft and easy to walk in, and there was plenty of clover and other plants alongside it to munch on as he walked. Yet with so many twists and turns, and with no Shepherd to guide him, Wooly soon became lost. Without realizing it, he had stumbled into the deep, dark forest. He was so lost that he didn't even know his way back out. Suddenly his pride abandoned him, and he realized he had been foolish by disobeying the Shepherd. Wooly continued to stumble along the now muddy path, hoping to find his way back home to his flock and his Shepherd. He was constantly being poked by the sticks and stones jutting out along the path, and he suffered more than a few cuts and injuries. Daylight disappeared as night descended upon the land, and he could no longer even see where he was. He persisted onward, determined to make amends for what he had done. Then he heard it: the wolves' howls. They sounded nearby, too. Frightened, Wooly took off running. He had no way of knowing where he was going, but he was desperate to put as much distance between him and the wolves as possible. In the darkness, he tripped over something--he wasn't sure what--and fell face first into a ditch. Alone and terrified, he let out a series of frantic bleats and baas. He thought it must be impossible for his Shepherd to hear him, but he hoped with all his being that he'd be saved. As he began to quiet down, Wooly noticed something along the ridge of the ditch. The forms of three dark wolves closed in around him. With no where to run, he would surely be attacked and eaten. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. But before any harm came to him, he heard a voice...It was the voice of his Shepherd! He had come for Wooly and was fighting off the wolves! It wasn't long before they had all been frightened away, and the Shepherd held little Wooly in his arms. And as he was led back to the flock, Wooly remembered the words of his Shepherd: "I myself will search for my sheep and look after them." -Ezekiel 34:11 -------- Caitlynn Lowe is a young student who is currently developing her passion for writing. She loves to tell stories, and her favorite genre is fantasy. Copyright Caitlynn Lowe 2007 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |