One spring day, my Daddy came down to Grandma's to cut off the lamb's tails.   He had to do it to keep the sheep's wool cleaner.   I wanted to watch him so Daddy said I could.

Daddy had a special long box that he laid the lamb's tail into.   I held onto the lamb's head so it couldn't get away.   Then Daddy took a hatchet and chop--right down into that box and off came the lamb's tail.

He poured some stuff on what was left of the the lamb's short little tail,he called it turpentine, and then I let the lamb go and it ran back to its mother.

The lambs didn't cry very long so it must not have hurt them too much.

I heard Daddy telling Grandma, "Ma, we got a black lamb we've gotta get rid of."

"I know." she said.   "Its mother won't let it nurse and the wool won't be any good to sell."

"Daddy, can I see the black lamb?" I asked.

Daddy went into the sheep shed and brought out the little black lamb.   It stood on wobbly little legs and started bleating and was so cute.

"Can we keep it, Daddy?"

Daddy looked at Grandma.   Grandma lifted her shoulders up in a shrug and smiled.

"We'll keep it," Daddy said, "but you will have to feed it from a bottle."

Grandma got a bottle with a long black nipple on it and filled it with warm milk.   I stuck the bottle in the lamb's mouth and that little black lamb just kept nudging at the bottle and sucked and sucked until that milk was all gone.

Daddy named that little black lamb, "Sluggo", and I fed it everyday until it got big enough to eat grass.

And Daddy never cut its tail off either.