Once upon a time, a very, very long time ago, in a land, far, far away lived a bunch of unbelievably agile, wildly independent, self reliant, spectacular looking, greatly spirited, robust, healthy, down to earth, hard working, generous, loving, patient, thoughtful, intellectually stimulated, spiritually mature, and enormously successful, wild sheep.
Mind you, this was a while back in time. Although, there are still such beings roaming the high mountain wild places of the world and in our own hearts and imaginations. It was a time basted in history and tradition of individuals striving for greatness of purpose. Working together for all the goodness that life can be.
Today, sheep mostly come in two basic kinds. One kind comes in black face with white wool bodies all around. The other kind comes with a white face with black colored wool on their bodies all around.
There are of course genetic modifications too. A lot of them are all one color or the other. Black sheep are in the minority because they have wool that can not be redyed so easy as their white counterparts. The sheep that are completely white all over on the face and all around their bodies can be made to look like, or be, just about anything anyone wants them to be.
They are what they are, and that is that!
They call them "Orvis aries" in scientific circles. They are "thick skulled" dumb and dumber sheep. There isn't much bragging to be done about any particular sheep around the lab because, well, they are sheep!
They are sheep, plural, period! There isn't even a word for a single independent sheep. There are not 'sheep' singular and 'sheeps' plural; nope, just sheep. If you try counting them individually you immediately get drowsy and fall asleep.
Sheep gave up their individualism and got like they are in exchange for "security." Today they get clean food and water and free medical care and nice idyllic fields of grass to mill around in together as a herd. Everyone is treated equally and fairly and no one is expected to do more than any other. This continues from generation to generation and is very hard now to actually break out of. So just as long as they keep the long stiff hair on their backs "kempt" and the fleece on their bellies clean and be available for their "special purpose" it continues!
In this bargain sheep have a strong leader that makes all the tough decisions for them. The leader decides when and where to market their meat and skins and milk and of course wool to make warm colorful outfits. You can see thousands of them in Shepperd's fields being rounded up by a Border Collies or Australian Shepperd's and one single dumb, anti social, reclusive Shepard man.
THIS IS A "FAIRY TALE" ABOUT SOME VERY QUEER SHEEP
Chapter one
Orvis Niviacola was as handsome a "freemartin" as anyone had ever seen. She was a fierce fighter in battle. Yet, her coat was as smooth and lovely as any of the courtyard beauties down in the valley. If one needed help of any kind Niviacola was always "there for ewe". If the flock needed to generate a coalition of thought or develop some energy for any just cause Niviacola could be counted on to rally the needed forces.
In peaceful times she always helped coordinate the efforts of everyone to take maximum advantage of the changing seasons and minimize the impact of overgrazing the natural pastureland of the high meadows. When the time came to move to other lands Niviacola would discuss with all the members of the flock and independent travellers the best route to make the exodus for the young and old alike, so none was overburdened.
She could always be counted on to settle differences in opinions and cultivate the great diverse talents of the herd for the common good. In those days almost all sheep were self reliant and had very well considered opinions on just about everything. She facilitated a council that gathered together periodically to exchange the commonwealth of knowledge to gain the "capital" required to sustain them from winter to winter.
One time a group of young wild Rams had gathered high up on the ridge above the pleasant valley that Niviacola and her flock inhabited. The flock came to Nivacola in fear and discussed that they expected nothing but trouble from the young Rams gathering on the rise.
It was the time of "rut" and there had been story's of unspeakable things that had befallen flocks in other lands. They pleaded with Niviacola to use all the powers God had entrusted her with to help spare them the plight of their neighboring sisters.
Nivacola dawned her most "shear" accoutrement's and climbed the nearby hills upwind of the young Rams hideout. She scented far and wide the areas where she bounded. The scent of her alone was enough to make the young Rams crazy. Yet, she tantalized them more with her cries of intended passion. She changed postures and profiles in the soft sunlight horizon to further coax them on. It drove them wild with demon thoughts of rape and pillage. Yet she teased them further, exposing her wide and amply rounded rump to their squint'y eyes!
She knew the fury and danger in that narrow gaze! She climbed to the highest pinnacle. A place with a little landing just past the precipice of a thousand foot cliff. Her long lashed eyes bedazzled them as they gazed upon her. There she pounded her hooves and scented the air and called out for her suitors to follow her in impassioned pursuit.
They did just that and ran full bore up and over the cliff to a horrible cascading death, bellowing out as they fell.
From that day forward she was known as the undisputed
"QUEEN" of "SHE BAH"
Chapter two
Arkhar Tajik Dalli Lama was a Ram among Rams. He had distinguished himself about the herd as kind of a supernatural who possessed an uncommon strength and wisdom. He had many times communed then travelled with the great Orvis Marco Polo as he past by the grand mountains high above Dushanbe Tajikistan.
His trans boundary exploits had taken him across Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and his homeland Tajikistan. His travels with learned kinsman had gained him lofty accolades from the flock for his achievements physically, intellectually, and most importantly spiritually!
Arkhar was a giant among sheep. The largest of his kind weighing in at 200 kilograms, with horns curving to an extended distance of two meters! His horns weighed 14 kilograms and would total in weight the balance of all the bones in his body!
All wild sheep male and female have double thick skulls and protective horns. Yet when avoiding predators wild sheep usually flee at a rapid pace to higher places where the footing is unachievable for other animals. Arkhar however, was known to butt wolves off the faces of cliffs to protect his flock.
Arkhar Tajiks was an industrious type that enjoyed the company of other ambitious Rams in the area. He had known since he was a young ram that he had been given the gift of getting things done through leadership. He dreamed for the ultimate prosperity of his flock. Using careful planning he surveyed paths, and built strategic fortifications for respites along the way. He developed means of commerce unknown in generations before him. As a result his flock did indeed prosper as did the other flocks in the region that had the ease of trade and interchange with his own.
Wild sheep are social animals that live in groups, called flocks. Flocking helps them avoid predators and also helps them stay warm in bad weather by huddling together. Flocks of sheep need to keep moving to find new grazing areas and more favorable climate as the seasons change. In each flock there is a sheep, usually a mature ram, which the others follow as a leader.
Arkhar Tajiks Dalli Lama was indeed such a leader.
Excerpt from Tajiks Fables -------------Canton Lesson #7
A wolf found great difficulty getting at sheep to eat, owing to the great wisdom and strength of the flocks leader and the high ground he lead them to occupy. One day the wolf found a sheep's pelt that had been flayed by a Shepherd. The wolf put on that skin and began to mingle with the flock till he had isolated a young lamb who he killed and ate. The wolf deceived the flock with this stunt many times again till Dalli Lama convinced the flock to heed these words of warning."Things are not always what they seem"
"Be watchful of wolves in sheep's clothing"
Chapter three
Rocky and Dolly were born nearly the same moment that spring and the parents could not have been more pleased. Both sets of parents had been great friends with one another and encouraged the young ones to be friends as well. They played together from the very beginning. They became inseparable and were the delight of the entire flock. Individuals would break away from the herd to watch them frolic together in the high meadows chasing butter flies during the day and fire flies after dark.
Rocky grew to be the most handsome in the land and Dolly the most gorgeous. As they grew they inspired others to test themselves to be better individuals. Everywhere they traveled a crowd gathered and went away inspired by their great looks and fashionable coats cut as sheer as any of the social class in the valleys below, but even more so by the transcendental communication skills and grand message that they related.
The flocks all over the land learned through them of a world with great hope and promise where, with ambition and productive work habits, and individual initiative the flock need not suffer through even one more winter.
The idea was that each member of the flock was born with unique characteristics, and that each was free to development those attributes. They delivered the message from ancient writings of the "Dalli Lama" himself who had wished to impress upon them that, it was in fact, their duty, to themselves, to God, and the others of the flock to pursue, to their best of their ability the individual gifts they had been given. In this way each one would be best prepared to add to the total prosperity of the flock. Each one adding as much of themselves as possible through free commerce and interaction with one another. This great collection of individuals had taught themselves the methods to stay protected from the elements and from the selfish masses who believed the power of self determination can somehow be stolen and divided like spoils of war.
Many followed this most noble idea and their decedents can still be found commanding the high places all over the world. Recent discovery's have been made of successful flocks of wild sheep who populate the high Rocky Mountains and the Grand Tetons and the High Sierras to name a few. Thus proving the ancient way of encouraging the pride of being the best of ones self, thereby enabling the many to do the same is still at work in the highest places even yet here on the North American Continent.
THE END
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