From Sheep Sheep everywhere! The truck stopped, and they closed in all around us like a big gray woolly blanket, bawling and baaing, stinking like, well, like sheep . . . They were bigger than I was, every last one, and so many I couldn't count them, more sheep than I thought there were in the whole wide world . . . I ran back and forth, trying to look like I knew what I was doing, practicing my sheep eye. The sheep ignored me, like I was a pesky fly. After a while Dad told me to calm down, but I couldn't. I'd gotten a taste of what life was all about, and I didn't want to miss a second of it . . . It was tricky, but when you got the sheep going the way they were supposed to, you were happy inside. It was better than a good meal, better than a rubdown, even better than Mom saying you were her own best boy . . . When the sheep were right, you had that deep-down good feeling that you were making a difference. You were doing what you were meant to do, what you believed in, what you were really good at. I'll tell you, nothing in the world is better than that. Excerpted from Sheep by Valerie Hobbs All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
