Freddy loved the smell of the wool. It was thick with grease called lanolin. Freddy liked to wiggle his fingers in the wool and then rub it on his hands. The lanolin made his hands soft.
Sometimes Ma came out while the sheep were being sheared and took a piece of wool from the inside of a bale. The wool had been next to the sheep's skin and was white and clean. Ma liked to rub the piece of wool between her hands and then rub her face. She said it was like very special, expensive face cream...but it was free.
Freddy was only eight years old and too young to help at sheep shearing time. Pa had said that when Freddy grew a little taller, he could help make the wool into bales.
Just last week, Freddy had helped Pa gather the baby lambs to check them over and make sure they were all right.
Freddy noticed there was one lamb who was all black in color. Pa said that the lamb would probably die as he was a "runt" and his mother had died. None of the other mother sheep would let the little black lamb nurse.
"I will probably send him to market," said Pa.
"His wool won't be any good...the wool factory will only buy white wool.
Besides Freddy, he is a ram--a boy sheep--and we only need one ram for the whole flock."
"Can I keep him as a pet, Pa?"
"He's going to be a lot of work, Freddy.
You will have to feed him every day with a bottle until he grows big enough to eat grass."
"I'll do it, Pa. I promise!"
Ma found an empty soda bottle.
She filled it with warm milk and put a long black rubber nipple over the opening on top.
Freddy loved to feed his lamb.
He had other chores to do, but when it was time to feed "Sluggo", as he had named the lamb,
it was the best part of his day.
Sluggo tugged and pulled at the rubber nipple, his little tail wiggling in happiness.
When all the milk was gone, he kicked up his little back legs and ran off to join the
other baby lambs.
