Julia
sighed as she went upstairs to pack a small case for her son. Both she and his
father were disappointed that Peter still didn’t like living here in the
village. Though he’d protested strongly about moving away from his friends,
they’d both hoped that by now he would have settled down and made new ones.
However
he’d continued to sulk and complain. It was almost as though he was punishing
them for moving here. Andrew was fast losing his patience.
“It’s time you grew up, Peter,” he’d said. You’re
almost fourteen now, but you’re acting like a five-year-old. Very soon
you’re going to have to think about your future.”
Julia
recalled how they’d been forced to leave London when Andrew was made
redundant. He’d been devastated and had applied for umpteen jobs, only to be
told he was too old. “Too old at forty,” he’d exclaimed. “It’s
unbelievable.”
Undeterred he’d continued to
scan the newspapers until one day he’d seen an advertisement for someone to
run a rural post office.
“What do you think, darling?” he’d asked. “Would you
be willing to move to the country?”
Julia had agreed and Andrew had written off that very day.
After
a series of interviews, he’d been accepted and they’d all been very excited
about the move. All except Peter, he’d shown his disapproval by seeking solace
with his friends.
They’d
sold their house and bought this charming old cottage. It needed work doing to
it, but they’d fallen in love with it at first sight. Outside there was a
large garden with a piece of land adjoining, which Andrew thought would be ideal
for growing vegetables. There was even a small barn, where…
A
Blackbird singing outside interrupted her thoughts. She stopped packing and
looked out of the window. The views across the fields were wonderful. They had
such plans for this place. Everything would be just perfect if only Peter would
begin to enjoy life here, she thought. Surely he could try, if only for his
father’s sake. He must realize what this job means to him.
Julia smiled to herself when she thought of
Katy, his young sister. She loved it here. To her everything was ‘simply
amazing’. She loved seeing all the different birds and plants. But at nine,
life is full of ‘simply amazing’ things.
There
were only a few days left before the new term started and Julia had agreed that
Peter could spend those days in London with his grandmother. Andrew hadn’t
been very keen at first.
“He can’t keep running back there. He’s got to try to
make a go of it here,” he’d said.
“Perhaps he’ll settle down when he comes back and starts
his new school,” Julia had replied, trying to be the peacemaker. She was
growing tired of the constant bickering between Peter and his father.
But
Andrew hadn’t been put off. “He’s not going to want to come back, is he?
He’ll want to stay on there. I’m uneasy about this Julia, I believe some of
his friends are a bad influence and I’ve told him so.”
However in the end he’d relented.
That
was two days ago and since then Peter had cheered up. This morning he’d even
offered to take Katy for a walk across the fields. Julia was just about to go
back to the packing when she saw them both in the distance.
Katy was darting back and forth, looking at all the wild flowers and
insects around her. You’re going to be one tired little girl tonight, she
thought, going back to sorting Peter’s clothes.
*
*
*
As he strolled through the fields, Peter was thinking about seeing his friends
again. Katy was a few yards in front, running from one flower to another, until
she came across something lying in the grass.
“Peter,” she said. “Come over
here. This sheep looks poorly.”
Peter walked over to Katy and looked down. She was right, something was wrong.
Seriously wrong.
“I think we should tell the
farmer,” he said. “You run down the lane and tell him to come quickly.
I’ll stay here and keep an eye on it. Katy, this is important, be as quick as
you can.” He spoke calmly, not wanting to alarm her.
Once
Katy had gone, Peter wondered what to do. He hoped she wouldn’t be too long.
Though he’d told her to hurry, he knew that she was very easily distracted,
especially if she saw a pretty butterfly or a bird sitting on a log.
As
he watched, he realized that the sheep was trying to give birth, or whatever it
was that farmers called it. He’d always thought that this kind of
thing was natural to animals, but he could see there was definitely a
problem here. If someone didn’t come soon, both the ewe and her lamb would
die.
He
felt helpless. What would my friends do? he thought. What would Billy and the
others do at a time like this? It soon dawned on him that Billy wouldn’t do
anything. He would merely shrug his shoulders in an off hand way and say,
“It’s not my problem.” The others would follow his lead, if only to keep
in Billy’s good books.
What
would I have done if I’d been with them? he asked himself. Would I have walked
away, just to be a big shot, like Billy? The answer frightened him. Did he
really want to be like them?
“It’s
okay, I won’t leave you,” he whispered to the ewe. “Everything will be all
right.” How stupid I am, he thought. It won’t understand a word I’m
saying. Nevertheless he continued talking, as his voice seemed to calm the
beast.
“Hurry
up, Katy,” he murmured. Please don’t stop for anything, not today.” As he
placed the head of the frightened sheep in his lap, he saw that the lamb was
trying desperately to come into the world. “Hang on there,” he whispered
“Your mother’s in a bad way. Wait a little while longer.” He
wished there was more he could do. But nothing had
prepared him for a situation like this.
Just
then he heard a truck coming down the lane, it entered the field and pulled up
alongside him. The farmer jumped out; another man accompanied him.
“Where’s
Katy?” Peter asked.
“She’s all right, don’t worry. She’s with my wife. Now then, what
have we here?” said the farmer.
The
other man knelt down and looked at the problem.
“The
lamb is the wrong way around, the ewe would never have managed it on her own.
It’s lucky this lad was here, he seems to have calmed her down. The situation
could have worsened if she’d become hysterical.”
“This is Alan Hughes, he’s
a vet,” said the farmer. “She’ll be all right now. You can move away if
you want to, lad.”
“No,” said Alan. “She seems to find him a comfort.
Stay there if you feel up to it. What’s your name, by the way?”
“Peter,
Peter Monroe. We’ve just moved into the area from London.”
“Well, Peter Monroe, you’re not doing too bad for a city boy. Are you sure
you haven’t done this before?” Mr. Hughes gave him a fleeting smile as he
worked to help the sheep give birth.
Peter
watched in wonder as the tiny lamb wriggled free. “No, I’ve never seen
anything like this before. It’s not something that happens very often in
Kensington High Street,” he said giving the vet a mischievous grin.
Soon
it was all over. Alan stood up and looked at the farmer. “They’ll be all
right now, but you’re going to have to keep an eye on them for the next few
days. It’s a good thing I was on the farm at the time. It could have all gone
very wrong. She won’t have anymore lambs though.”
The
farmer said that he would take them to his barn in the farmyard, that way he
would be close at hand.
“Come on, Peter I’ll give you lift back there. We’ll
see what your sister’s been up to.”
Peter found Katy
with a pony in the field by the farmhouse. “Is the sheep all right, Peter? I
ran all the way, just like you said. I didn’t stop once.”
“I know. You did very well, Katy. You helped to save its
life.”
Peter
followed the farmer and the vet into the barn and watched the ewe clean her
lamb. Until that morning, he’d never seen anything so wonderful.
“What’s
going to happen to them now?” he asked.
“They’ll spend a few days here, then I’ll take them
back up to the field.”
“I meant afterwards,” said Peter quietly.
“Well, we’ll see,” said the farmer.
Peter went over to the vet and spent a long time talking to him before he and
Katy set off for home.
*
*
*
Back at the cottage Julia was concerned. The children had been gone a long time.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have allowed them go on their own. But Peter had
promised he wouldn’t go far.
She
was just about to phone Andrew, when she heard a car outside. Looking out of the
window she saw Peter and Katy step out followed by the farmer.
“Mummy.
Mummy, we saved a sheep today.” Katy was so excited, she started calling out
to her mother before the door opened.
The farmer explained what had happened. “Peter did well. If it hadn’t been
for him… and Katy of course, it would be a different story. Well I must get
on. There’s always work to be done on the farm.”
Julia showed the farmer out and Peter went up to his room.
“I’ve
packed your case, Peter,” Julia called up the stairs. Everything is ready for
tomorrow.”
Peter didn’t answer. She hoped that he wasn’t going to sulk again. His
father wouldn’t take too kindly to another bout of complaints.
When
Andrew came home for lunch, he listened to Katy tell her story about the ewe and
her lamb.
“It is a lovely little lamb, daddy,” she said. “And we
saved it. Peter and me, we saved it.”
Julia called to Peter
that his meal was on the table. The bedroom door opened and Peter came
downstairs.
“Katy’s been telling me all about your morning. You did
very well, son. I’m proud of you,” said Andrew.
“Thanks
Dad.” Peter looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. He had something
to say to his parents. “I’m sorry about my behaviour over the last few
weeks. I shouldn’t have gone on like that. I’ve been upstairs doing some
thinking. Do you think Gran would be disappointed if I didn’t go to her house
tomorrow? I want to go across to the farm and keep an eye on the ewe and the
lamb. The farmer said I could go over whenever I liked. You don’t mind, do
you?”
Andrew
looked surprised. “No son,” he said. “We don’t mind at all. But you’ve
always said you hated being here, what’s suddenly changed your mind?”
“You
were right about Billy and the others. Today when I was sitting with that sheep,
I realized that they wouldn't have done anything to help it. But what really
upset me was that if I had been with them, I might not have helped either. I
don’t want to be like them, Dad.”
“Peter,
you’re not like them. You did help,” said his mother. You calmed the animal
down. The farmer said that…”
“But it may not have been enough, Mum,” interrupted
Peter. “If the farmer hadn’t come in time, I couldn’t have done anything.
Dad, I know now what I want to do. I want to be a vet. I had a chat with Mr.
Hughes and he said that if you both agree, I could go out with him on some of
his calls during the school holidays. What do you think?”
Julia
tried to hold back the tears as Andrew told Peter that it was the best news
he’d heard for a long time. “You know it’ll be hard work don’t you?
You’re going to have to study hard at school to get into university.”
“Yes, Mr. Hughes told me that. But I really want to
try.”
“Then we’ll back you all the way, son.”
“Thanks Dad,” said
Peter. “After lunch I’ll phone Gran and explain what’s happened. It’ll
be better coming from me. Then I’ll go and try to persuade the farmer to keep
the sheep on the farm. I couldn’t bear anything to happen to them now.”
Once
Peter had set off for the farm, Andrew went into the hall to make a phone call.
When he came back, Julia looked across at him and smiled.
“Peter’s grown up and moved on, all in one day. I do
hope he persuades the farmer to spare the sheep. We owe a lot to that ewe and
her lamb. They did us a good turn. ”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Andrew, smiling.
“That’s why I phoned the farmer. I’ve just bought them, they’ll be safe
here with us. After all, Julia, one good turn deserves another.”
The
End.