The Lambing
“I’ll
be back for you in a week,” Lisa’s mother said,
kissing her good-bye. “You’re bound to have fun.
Aunt Mary says the sheep are lambing now, so I bet you’ll
be busy.”
Being busy was not necessarily having fun, Lisa thought as her mom drove away. Lisa frowned as she looked around the well-kept sheep farm that her aunt operated all alone. “Mary is such a strong woman,” Lisa’s mother had said. Probably the rewards of building your own fences, thought Lisa. Still, lambs might be cute, and maybe she could pet one.
Day turned to evening, and with evening came the chores. Lisa helped Aunt Mary feed the animals. All the animals were fun to see, but the sheep were Lisa’s favorites. After the feeding was done, Lisa stayed in the sheep barn watching the lambs until Aunt Mary rang the dinner bell at the house.
That night a storm hit. “The rain will be good for the fields,” Aunt Mary said.
Lisa had just settled into bed when a giant crack of lightning seemed to explode the air in her room. As Lisa lay there, shaken from the noise, she heard Aunt Mary call, “Lisa, I need your help!” Lisa ran down the stairs to the kitchen, where Aunt Mary was standing in boots and a sweatshirt, holding a lantern.
“We need to get out to the barn,” Aunt Mary said. “Get on your clothes, grab some mud boots from the washroom, and come out.” Lisa didn’t need to hear any more. She ran back up the stairs, her heart pounding, and quickly slipped into her jeans and sweater.
When Lisa opened the back door, she saw the trouble. A tree, struck by lightning, had fallen against the barn. Power lines sagged under its weight, and one branch had broken out a barn window. Lisa checked that no power lines were on the ground, then ran to the barn.
Aunt Mary was inside. “It’s bad, Lisa. This poor ewe was cut when that window broke. I’ve wrapped towels around the wounds, hoping the pressure will slow down the bleeding. I need to get some help to stitch her up. Will you take care of her lamb in the corner? From the looks of him, I’d say he’s not more than ten minutes old.”
Lisa saw the tiny white form in the corner and felt tears
come to her eyes.
“Lisa”, Aunt Mary said gently, “if I stay here to care for the lamb, the ewe will die. I can’t call the veterinarian because the phone lines are out. I need to leave you here to take care of the lamb while I go for the vet. Try to dry him, because his mom can’t help him and he’s still wet from his birth. Warm him, and I’ll be back as quick as I can. There’s not much you can do for the ewe except to try to keep her still.”
Lisa shook her head, feeling panic rising in her chest. “Aunt Mary, I don’t know what to do! What if I mess this up?”
“You won’t,” her aunt replied. “Just do what I’ve told you, Lisa. You are that lamb’s only chance.”
Giving Lisa a hug, Aunt Mary ran out to start the pickup.
Lisa looked at the lamb. He shivered, but otherwise lay still. There was no time now to worry. Lisa ran to the house and brought back a stack of clean towels. She wrapped the lamb in a towel and began rubbing gently. In a few moments he began to make a little bleating noise. Lisa felt a sigh of relief. The lamb bleated again, and then his mother began to call.
Lisa had nearly forgotten about the ewe. Now the sheep called out loudly and began to struggle. With each of her movements the blood flowed more freely from her wounds.
“Your baby’s all right!” Lisa called, trying to calm the ewe. But the ewe wouldn’t hold still. Lisa placed the lamb by the ewe’s head, and the ewe became quiet as she licked her lamb. But soon the ewe was struggling again, and the reason soon became apparent. From the ewe’s backside another lamb began to come. Then, suddenly, the struggle ended.
The injuries were too much for the old ewe. Lisa felt tears in her eyes. She thought how her aunt would feel when she returned. Then the lamb’s head moved.
Lisa knew she had to get the lamb out. She pulled, but it was too slippery. There were only seconds left, she guessed, and Lisa desperately wanted to save this lamb. She grabbed a towel, wrapped it around the lamb’s head, and slowly, carefully, pulled. The lamb inched forward. Then Lisa tried pulling the feet. “It’s going to die if I don’t get it out,” she told herself. Suddenly, with a loud slurp, the lamb slipped free. Lisa grabbed the towels and began to dry the limp body.
“Live,” she whispered out loud. “Please
live.”
The lamb shuddered, and its eyes opened.
“Oh, thank you,” Lisa cried through her tears. “Thank you so much.”
Lisa kept rubbing the lambs until they were both dry, then she covered them and held them close to her to keep them warm until her aunt returned.
The first lamb moved from beneath the towel. With weak and wiggly legs he struggled to stand. Like a teeter-totter, he rose first on back legs, then on front legs with back legs collapsed. Back and forth he worked until finally all four legs held beneath him. Lisa smiled as she watched. From a distance she heard Aunt Mary's truck approaching.
Lisa understood why her aunt was such a strong woman. This life had made Aunt Mary strong, and now Lisa felt some of that strength herself. The standing lamb bleated again with life as the second one shuffled out from under the towel, ready to meet the world.
