Full ?fty comely sheep I raised,

As sweet a ?ock as ever grazed!

To see it melt like snow away!

And crazily, and wearily,

From ten to ?ve, from ?ve to three,

He saw me, and he turned aside,

For me it was a woeful day.

They dwindled, Sir, sad sight to see!

And every year encreasd my store.

A little lamb, and then its mother!

And it was ?t that thence I took

As I could wish to be;

Ten children, Sir! had I to feed,

--This lusty lamb of all my store

"What ails you? wherefore weep you so?"

I of the parish askd relief.

Sturdy he seemed, though 九_九_藏_書he was sad;

And then at last, from three to two;

They dwindled one by one away;

I followd him, and said, "My friend

And after youthful follies ran,

I thought he knew some ill of me

Till thirty were not left alive

No ease, within doors or without,

And yet I have not often seen

Yet, so it was, a ewe I bought;

As healthy sheep as you might see,

And in his arms a lamb he had.

To wipe those briny tears away.

Year after year my stock it grew,

Weep in the public roads alone.

And here it lies upon my arｅad•９９ｃsｗ•cｏｍrm,

To see the end of all my gains,

God cursed me in my sore distress,

A lamb, a weather, and a ewe;

To-day I fetched him from the rock;

Upon the mountain did they feed;

They throve, and we at home did thrive.

I loved my children less;

It was a vein that never stoppd,

For daily with my growing store

And every man I chancd to see,

And other sheep from her I raised,

A healthy man, a man full grown

Like blood-drops from my heart they droppd.

As if he wished himself to hide:

As dear as my own children be;

For me it was a woeful day.

And of my ?九*九*藏*書fty, yesterday

I had but only one,

Is all that is alive:

For me it was a woeful day.

My sheep upon the mountain fed,

Alas! and I have none;

And every week, and every day,

My ?ock, it seemed to melt away.

Of sheep I numberd a full score,

Then with his coat he made essay

Oft-times I thought to run away;

I loved my children more and more.

Whereof to buy us bread:"

With all my care and pains,

They said I was a wealthy man;

For me it never did me good.

To-day I fetched it from the rock;

The pretty ?ock which I had reared

And in the broad high-wayread.９９ｃsｗ•ｃｏm, I met;

And bought my little children bread,

No peace, no comfort could I ?nd,

In distant countries I have been,

And wicked fancies crossd my mind,

Hard labour in a time of need!

--"Shame on me, Sir! this lusty lamb,

Though little given to care and thought,

He is the last of all my ?ock.

My pride was tamed, and in our grief,

And from this one, this single ewe,

They dwindled, dwindled, one by one,

I wished they all were gone:

And I may say that many a time

His cheeks with tears were wet.

I sold a sheep as they had said,

And then I married, and wasｈｔtps://rｅaｄ•9９ｃｓw•ｃom rich

I went my work about.

And they were healthy with their food;

And perish all of poverty.

But such a one, on English ground,

They cried, "what to the poor is due?"

And now I care not if we die,

Alas! it was an evil time;

When I was young, a single man.

I prayed, yet every day I thought

Another still! and still another!

Sir! twas a precious ?ock to me,

It is the last of all my ?ock."

"Do this; how can we give to you,"

A woeful time it was for me,

Along the broad high-way he came,

He makes my tears to ?ow.

To wicked deeds I was inclined,