Wake Up the Lazy Shepherd

Wake Up the Lazy Shepherd1

Away upon an age gone by,
Atop a land of hill and sun,
A young man did his best to try
And turn his chore into some fun.2

A shepherd was the boy by trade,
though he cared nothing for his sheep,
For there upon the hill he laid,
And ate until he fell asleep.3

Dear sir, said sheep, to his surprise,
Since sheep were rarely so polite,
I humbly ask if you could rise,
And aide your flock while there’s still light.4

What for, asked boy, through hazy eyes,
You do not need my help to graze.
Your only dread is biting flies.
What has created such a craze?5

Come look, said sheep, you inept guard.
Come see the product of your zest,
And if your honor is not scarred,
By all means, please, return to rest.6

So lazy boy and talking pet
Walked to the lake from which sheep drank,
And lo, behold, a carcass set,
A vast hole opened in its flank.7

The boy was shocked at gruesome sight
Of holy lamb, and hole it bore,
What ghastly ghoul or monstrous fright
Would kill this way, with so much gore?8


A snake. A snake. It is a snake,
Said vocal sheep to his young man,
A giant snake from in this lake
Has been attacking all my clan.9

My friends would drink the water here,
But can no longer as they like,
For when a lamb might stroll too near,
The horrid beast is sure to strike.10

It enters through a lapping mouth
Of thirsty sheep who dares to go.
From there it quickly travels south
Into the stomach of its foe.11

Then out, bursts forth from dead sheep’s gut
The serpent finished with his meal.
And waits for some new meat to cut
And rip, and eat, and strip, and steal.12

The boy was trouble by this mess;
The herd his job was to protect
Was now much worse, was now much less.
What if his parents would inspect?13

So boy devised a cunning plan
To kill the scaly, forked-tongue beast.
It must be smart or else young man
Would soon become the serpent’s feast.14

He then went home, started sowing
Wool to cloth with cross-stitched ties.
He must get close without snake knowing
So he created a disguise.15

He donned the sheep-suit and went back,
But in his hand he held his knife,
And there he waited for attack
From beast who might just take his life.16

There at the water’s edge he stayed,
Til night drew close and sky went dim.
There at the water’s edge he prayed
To any that would answer him.17

Into his suit the snake did come.
Into his arm did serpent bite,
And soon the poor boy’s arm went numb;
The snake pressed down with all his might.18

But still the boy could grab his blade,
And carved off serpent’s ugly head,
It fell to ground and there it laid
The beast who killed was surely dead.19

The herd soon cheered, but he felt pain;
The poison bite was in his arm,
And now his skin would start to stain,
And he would quickly come to harm.20

The sheep watched close and became sad
Their hero slowly losing breath
The joyous scene was turning bad
As shepherd boy now met his death.21

Then to his eyes his vision streamed,
Upon the hill, beneath the stars,
The fight before he must have dreamed,
But on his arm were two round scars.22

From then the boy did strictly take
His job as shepherd of his sheep.
He never had to fight a snake,
But detailed plans of guise he’d keep.