“A Sheep’s Tale”

Bob the farmer pulls at the sheep market. It is a bright autumn morning.

The sun lights up the hills around Nelson, a small village in the South Wales valleys. Many farmers have gathered for the ram sales today.

Sharpie the sheep dog waits in the front of the car, for Bob to come

back. He is a faithful companion. He is a working dog, used to help

round the sheep up and bring them in off the hills.

Bob is thinking about buying some food. A

small van is selling his favourite snack.

Bob has his food and waits to go into the sheep market. The auction is beginning.

Bob meets his dad, Bill.

Bob and Bill are inside the sheep market. What price will the livestock fetch today? Livestock is sold for

guineas, not pound sterling. 1 guinea = £1.05!

The sheep want to be fed.

There are lots of sheep waiting to enter the auctioneer’s ring. The

auctioneer’s voice can be heard as the bidding proceeds. The breeze

blows softly across the hills.

Bob has decided to

buy the sheep and has named him Steve.

Bob wants this ram very badly. Breeds like this are hard to come

by.

Charley, his other ram is

jealous because of Steve the new ram.

They are all going home…

Bob takes Charley and Steve to the field.

All the ewes greet the new sheep, Steve.

Steve is enjoying meeting all the other

ewes.

His new home is a small hill farm. The

landscape in this part of Wales is well suited to sheep farming. He has been bought in

time for the new lambing season.

Charley is jealous because Steve is

getting the attention. The rams jostle for position in the

flock.

Bob and his wife Barbara look after Charley. All the animals are valuable and need a lot of care. The flock will need to be fed

extra hay through the cold winter. Both men and women work as farmers in Wales.

Barbara has put Charley into a different sheep pen so the sheep might run with him as well as with Steve. Come the spring Barbara is hoping for lots of twin

lambs. These will be worth a lot of money at market.

All the ewes are now running with Steve and Charley.

Bob’s dad is visiting the farm. Bob grew up on the farm and has learnt all he knows about farming

from his dad.

Bill is looking at the sheep. He needs a strong ram for his own flock. Charley and Steve are not good

together, because they fight all the time.

The sheep think that Bill will feed them food. They bleat for attention, but no food comes. The men are

deep in conversation.

Bill is stroking Charley and Steve the sheep. Which one should he take? Charley has the best breeding and will help improve his flock.

Bob chooses a sheep to take to his farm.

Bill and Bob are eating their food. The sheep are hungry. The sound of their bleating is so loud that the men cannot

hear each other speak.

Bill has chosen his sheep and is now going home. The autumn storms are bringing high winds and cold air

from the north. Winter is on its way. Brrr!

Bill is making his sheep feel at home. With shelter and a feed of hay he will

soon settle in.

Charley is very happy with his new home. He explores his pen.

Steve the ram is missing Charley.

Bill the farmer is thinking of selling Charley.

Charley wants to say sorry to Steve the ram for biting his ear and

hurting him.

Bill has let Charley go home, but if he

hurts Steve again he will be taken away

forever…

Bill is saying goodbye to Charley the sheep.

Steve and Charley the sheep are happy and are best friends now.

Bill the farmer is very sad because he cannot see Charley all the time. He misses having this animal to

look after.

Bob and Barbara are very happy Charley and Steve the rams can get along.

The sheep are very happy because their food is ready for them to eat.

Bob has just fed all the sheep. They settle down for the night.

Bob is stroking Charley and Steve the sheep.

“My marvellous rams”, he thinks proudly.

All the ewes are very tired, but happy to have Steve and Charley the rams back together again.

Bob is going to see if there are any more sheep for sale.

Bob has made all the sheep comfortable before he goes to another sheep market.

Bob has found other sheep he likes.

Bob put all the sheep into his car to take them home.

All the sheep are quiet. Bob checks the sheep in the

middle of the night to make sure they are all ok.

Sheep farming is a 24 hour job, especially during the

lambing season.

The next morning Bob goes to check the sheep, they are all awake and wanting their food. The sound of their bleating is

deafening.

Bob goes into the barn and prepares some feed

for the sheep from special sacks of sheep

feed. The flock will need hay too with this cold

northerly wind. Snow is forecast.

All the sheep start to eat their food.

We hope that you enjoyed this illustrated story of rural life in our local area. We also hope that this

story will encourage you to ask us questions about our country and life styles.

The style of the images is inspired by the African artist, John Muafangejo. He made many images

illustrating everyday life. They are usually black and white lino prints. To see his work, visit this website:

http://www.johnmuafangejo.com/

These prints were created by 8S.

Story created by: Emilie Burke, Jade Tudor, Mary Gauden and Amy Nott