123 lines
3.6 KiB
TeX
123 lines
3.6 KiB
TeX
\herosection{The Lost Sheep}{chapters/2025.09.09-TheLostSheep/image/the-lost-sheep.jpg}
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\DROPCAP{../../dropcap_c/dropT.png}here was once a boy \\
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who shepherded a flock of a hundred sheep.\\
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Every morning, he led them out \\
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to graze in the meadows by the lake,\\
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and every evening, \\
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he counted them one by one\\
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as they returned to the fold.
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He knew them all by name:
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Wobblekins and Butterbean,\\
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Snorflehoof and Starwhistle,\\
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Bumblepuff and Thimbleberry.
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And he took pride in being their protector,\\
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their guide, \\
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their shepherd.
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One night, \\
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after a long day of grazing,\\
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the boy fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
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When he awoke, \\
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the fold was empty.\\
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Not a single sheep remained — \\
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except for a lone lamb,\\
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named Lamby,\\
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bleating at him insistently.
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The boy's heart pounded.\\
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He rushed to the hills,\\
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calling their names,\\
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scouring every hollow and ravine.
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But there was no answer.\\
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No bleating, \\
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no hoofprints,\\
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no sign of struggle or wolves.
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It was as if the entire flock\\
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had simply vanished.
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Day after day, he searched.\\
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Lamby followed him everywhere,\\
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stumbling through brambles and streams,\\
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her plaintive cry piercing the silence.
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Sometimes she would run ahead,\\
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bleating urgently,\\
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darting in a direction he didn't expect,\\
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other times nipping at his pant legs.
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But he would scoop her up\\
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and carry her in his arms.\\
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``There now,'' he would whisper,\\
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``Don't be afraid.\\
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We'll find them.''
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Weeks passed.\\
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The boy grew ragged and hollow-eyed.
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At last, one evening,\\
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he climbed a high ridge at the edge of the valley.\\
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There, \\
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through a break in the mist,\\
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he saw a great green valley beyond the mountains — \\
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lush pastures shimmering in moonlight.
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And there, \\
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far below,\\
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his flock!\\
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Every single sheep, \\
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grazing peacefully,\\
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as if they had never been lost.\\
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Their wool shone like silver in the night.
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The boy's joy turned to confusion.\\
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Why had they gone there without him?\\
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Why had they left him behind?
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As he gazed, \\
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Lamby leapt and spun,\\
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bleating with delight.\\
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She nipped at his trousers,\\
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just as she had been doing all along.
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And suddenly, \\
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he understood.
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The flock had not been lost.\\
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He had been keeping them in the same place\\
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long after it could sustain them.\\
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So while he slept, \\
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they had moved on\\
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to where they could thrive.\\
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And this little lamb — \\
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whom he had misunderstood, \\
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even scolded — \\
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had been left behind\\
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to guide him home.
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Tears stung his eyes.\\
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He lifted Lamby into his arms,\\
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her heartbeat warm against his chest.
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For the first time,\\
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he followed rather than led,\\
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crossing the ridge under the rising dawn.
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When he reached the valley,\\
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the flock surrounded him with gentle bleats,\\
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pressing close as if to say,
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``You were never abandoned.''
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From that day forward,\\
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the boy no longer thought of himself \\
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as their leader,\\
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but as their companion — \\
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the hundred-and-first sheep.\\
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