The Mystery Of The Seventh Sheep... Poem by Frank James Ryan Jr...fjr

(((((A SHORT STORY)))))


While taking a drive past a small
country town one early Sunday morn-
ing, I saw a field of seven sheep
gathering for their morning feed.
The sheep herder acted indifferent
to the flock who only had food
on their minds. You see, although
these living beings were sheep,
they were bright, disciplined,
and aware of their surroundings.

Now, the sheep herder, who was
a man of Faith and Prayer but
who had not seen the inside of a
Church in more than 3 scores of years,
had spent many a Sunday as well as
weekdays diligently training
his flock on how to show honor and
respect for their Creator, and for
their food each day.He taught them
over a great period of time, as it
took much time for as smart as sheep
can be, they are in fact, not human.
So, for many weeks, each morning,
for several moments before beginning
to eat he taught them to be still
before their food and the herder
did this every morning as a gesture
of love and respect for his creator,
and in thanks and appreciation for his
sheep. It was as close to saying grace
than the actual spoken word itself.

However, this one morning, the sheep
herder had other things on his mind,
and after dropping the feed to each
sheep, he did not wait for their
usual pause, but instead, turned his
back to the flock and walked back
towards his barn.

All but one sheep, (who sat quietly
alone in front of his untouched feed) ,
failed to pause, not even for a
moment, while the herders six sheep
proceeded to woof down every last ounce
of their feed, so fast and noisily that
the sheep herder stopped in his tracks,
turned around, and quickly jogged back
to the field.When he got to the fenced
area he angrily leapt over the 3 foot
fence, stood up, and with hands on hips
began to admonished the herd for their
inappropriate actions and disobedience,
as well as their obvious absence of
Thanks and gratitude for their food,
that is except for the one sheep, who
had displayed his thanks, but who had
quietly disappeared from the field
amidst the commotion. The herder wept
at the thought of losing one of his
sheep, and now regretted acting as
tersely as he had moments before.
And, because he felt so badly, one by
one the herder pet each sheep, and in
doing so, he suddenly discovered some-
thing strange. The sheep that had left
after the herder had scolded them all,
had not returned, however, the herder
had just pet the heads of six sheep!
A head count followed, just to be sure
and upon completion the herder was left
dumbstruck, as once again he counted
six sheep. The herder only owned six
sheep, and all six were present and
accounted for. Now, baffled and beyond
frustrated, he shouted out in the
middle of the field, 'Who in the hay-
stacks, was that seventh sheep, and
where in Green Acres did he go to''? !

Finally after scrambling his head over
the events of the morning, the herder
let it go, thinking that this phantom
sheep who had obeyed the herders rule
was obviously another herders sheep.
However, from that day on, his sheep
never strayed from pausing before eating
again. This event occurred some 10 years
ago, and since, two of his flock have
passed on. The herder replaced the two
sheep, and in both cases, the new sheep
knew to pause before eating from day 1.
It was then, the herder felt he had
finally understood what happened over
a decade ago...But he wasn't totally
convinced. So he did something he had
not done since he was a young boy re-
ceiving his First Communion. He went to
Mass, and there he heard the words that
in his mind, heart and soul would not
only put that strange day,10 years past,
to rest, but that would result in this
sheep herder spending more time visiting
with the Main Shepherd, at Mass, every
Sunday. And each Sunday he would watch
with adoration and appreciation as -
the vestment adorned Priest raised the Host
above his head, and staring at its ivory
shine would say those special words:
said:
''This Is The Lamb of God, Who Taketh Away
the Sins of the World...Happy are They
Who are Called to the Supper of The Lamb''.
He will never know for certain, as only
forward time and death be certain, however,
it is said that right up to his final breath
one Sunday afternoon in May, the sheep herder
believed that the mysterious events of that
day, now more than a score of years ago, as well
as what followed in each new sheep entering
the flock already knowing and acting on what
the herder had spent so much time in getting
his original flock to do, left the sheep herder
convinced, that he had been touched in some
inexplicable way by the presence of the Lamb
of God, or if you like.... The Seventh Sheep.
Only Faith can answer the question...
''Were they not always both the same''?



FjR/2015

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Frank James Ryan Jr. / FjR