The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

" 1Cg Ally " NAlpuV AltIN kOlI , Ott tC 90 ~
took up in his reoomemberin', an he says.
eft come about in this way. .Dan'l,' says
he. MY father went out one day to run to
earth a cunnin' old She wolf that had besn
samplin' our sheep .paetur' coneider'bl5,
but he couldn't run her down. He found
cub o. her'n that hadn't got it's eyes open
yit.
"'He brung the cub home an wa goin'
to drownd it. but | begged him fer to let
me zee what ! could do in bringin' 1t up by
hand, an he let me have IL.
Jest the day afore this, one OF our ewes
had a lamb as black as the ace o. spades.
'cept fer a band o. white, mebbe as wide
as your hand. Danl. that run around the
middle of lie body, an was white as the
driven snow. The day father come in with
the wolf cub. what does that amazin' lamb
do but turn up missin'.
"'We couldn' git no trail Of IL. an maturity
thunk that some ally old wolf had come
along an put it inside Of hisself. Even as
a toddlin' boy, Dan'l,' SAYS Uncle Jase.
Il was auite a thinker up. an the idee come
to me that the mother o. that missin' lamb
mowt lest as well be helpin' me out in the
raisin' o. that wolf cub by hand as to be
blattin' all day fer the lamb. 80 ] run the
old sheep in from the pastur' an sot her
to nussin' the cub. an she took him in an
cared fer him jest as If he had been her
own baby"
ga sheep sucklin' a wolf, Dan1. The
peaceful an meek nussin' the fierce an
tearinN Is common mouse eatin' house
cats nussin' nut crackin' gray squir'ls 10
be spoke Of in the same breath with setch.
DAMP says Uncle Jase.
Il says IL didn't look to me as II they
could be. an the Squire shook his fist at
Jason an said mebbe not, but sauirl nussin'
cats was true. by hickor, which put the
pityin' an Sorrowin' look mo Simon's
eyes bigger'n ever az he tu!ucd 'em onto
the Squire.
We'll. Dani.' says Uncle Jase. the old
eve riz that wolf, an two turtle doves
couldn a thunk more o. one another than
they did. When the wolf was a year old
he was the biggest ever seen in them parts
or in any other parts.
He was gentle as n lamb, an took to
yunnin' the churnin' machine az nat'ral an
as willin' as any old sheep. When he want
busy around the house he stayed with the
sheep in the pastur'. an many wa The
prowlin' volt he necked an shook the
everlastin' daylights oct of, setch an I'M
heerd Of critter he ~as, Danl--a sheep in
Then folks took to hearin' about an
other unheerd Of critter hat was prowlin'
around in the deestric' II was Always
along with VOLTS, but il an no wolf its
own self.
Fact o. the matter was. Danl. it was
like a big buck sheep, eIceIt that il had
glarin' eyes, an was 1ercer even h a
wolf. Folks that had seen this critter
said it was black as the ace o spades, 'cep
fer a hand around its body. an hat band
was as white as n new ovhan The
minute I heerd that ! says:
-'"Whv." l says. that's the lamb Of
our'n that turned up missin' a year ago.
says |, Danl, an that lamb nor no other
lamb could a switched its tail any quicker
than | thunk up the whole thing.
~'Natur' bein' queer, Dan1. says Uncle
Jase, the mother Of the wolf cub my father
had brung in had jest slipped II. TO our
pastur' an lugged away that lamb OF ours
to take her missin' cubs place. She had
nussed the lamb an riz it, same as our
old eve had nussed the wolf cub an re
il, an the lamb nussed in the wolf natur'
Jest as the cub had nussed in the natur'
o the sheep. 80
"'Naturt. naturI' says Uncle Jase. II
some o. these here folks as is goin' about
the country doubtin' OF her an scoutin'
of her an usin' fightin' words about her
hould ever happen to git their ears close
to Natur's heart an Natur's heart don't
give a thump thatNl knock their consumed
heads off. t~hen-well. then. Danl.' says
Uncle Jase. 'Natur's right hand has lost
it's cunnin' an her tongue has Glove to
the roof o. her mouth says he, an dinged
IL the Squire didn't nod approvin' 20 that
an turn a reproachin' an admonishin'
gaze on Simon.
'Danl,' says Uncle Jase. gittin' back
to his recomemberin'. there you see the
amazin' circumstance OF a wolf standin'
guard over sheep an protectin' OF EN-
ag'in it's kind, an Of a sheep prowlin' with
VOLTS an helpin' Of 'em to lug away an
devour its kind! An it wa'n't long before
il was diskivered that this wild an. de-
natur'ied buck sheep want only travel
lin with VOLTS. but that IL was wuss'n any
OF EN- in cleanin' out sheep pastur's.
why. that fierce. wild buck would come
a-rearin' an a-tearin' into a pastur', an in
less time than il takes me TO tell it, almost,
would butt over as many sheep as IL felt
like doing an skeer the watchers away an
then the VOLTS would rush in an carry of the
dead.
Folks got 50 they didn't keer fer VOLTS
no more. II was that terrible wolf-sheep
that sot EN- on edge.
They hunted him an they hunted him,
but he butted from one pastur' TO another,
an somehow nobody could git nigh him to
lay him low. Fer some reason he hadn't
tackled our pastur' yit, an 1t 'd'a been bet
ter fer him II he never had.
Zone mornin' | wen out to see how our
sheep-wolf had got through the night with
his watchln' over the flock. | didn't see
nothin' of him. but over to one corner o the
lot | see the old eve tn at had riZ him an
loved him, actin kind o queer. went over
TO the corner an there laid our wolf-sheep
deader than n stone, an the old eve a-lick-
ing Of him an a-blattin' over him the pitt
fullest kind.
but the wolf in Sleeps clothin.' Dan'l.
want all that lay there dead. He had his
teeth sot clean to the gums in the throat o
that pastur' scourgin' wild buck sheep with
the white band around his body. an the
wild buck was dead.
"Layin' on to him was a big she wolf,
dyin'. with her throat all tore. an whinin'
over the dead wild buck an lickin' Of him
same as our old eve was lickin' her wolf
sheep an mournin' over him! What did it
all mean? Danl?' says Uncle Jase.
Jason says |, you'll nave 10 excuse
me fer sayin' 80. hut | don know says I.
"'Danr. says Uncle Jass. study Natur'
an you'll know a heapl' says he 1t all
meant saws he. that the ferc, wild buck
had come in the psstur' with the she wolf
20 kill an steal his own mother. an mebbe
help to eat her up, but our sheep in VOLTS
clothin' was thars an he protected the
eve, an he killed his own mother an the
ewes own son, an give no the ghost his
ownself "A doin'o Of IL!
That's what il all meant. Dan'l. says
Uncle Jase 'Natur' is queer, Danl, says
he. but the quaerest thing she does amt
the settin' of an old cat q mussin' a passed.
o. gray squir'ls. not by a durn sight.
An as he didn't see no pint a~-sittin'
there an chawin' his own tobacker he
walked out. an l walked out with him.
As we was comm outen the tavern a little
later on. the Squire was comin' outan