Storytelling Week 1: Bo-Peep and Her Sheep

"Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

     And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, and they'll come home,

     And bring their tails behind them."

(traditional nursery rhyme)

Once upon a time, there was a young lady named Bo-Peep and she owned many, many sheep. You see, Little Bo-Peep's parents were sheep herders and raised her to love and care for all of her sheep for every moment of every day. One day, however, Little Bo-Peep had a visitor; it was the handsome young man from next door. Bo-Peep, being single and available, couldn't possibly turn down the chance to get to know her future husband. As a polite host, Bo-Peep went inside for a few minutes to get the young man a glass of lemonade and a tart, and figured the sheep would certainly be fine being by themselves for only a few minutes. Before she knew it, over an hour had passed since Little Bo-Peep had gone out to check on her sheep; you see, falling in love can make a person lose track of time. When Bo-Peep noticed the time, she jumped out of her seat, sprinted outside, and stared forlornly at the empty green field before her... all of her sheep were gone. She pondered for hours about what she could do in order to find her sheep. She then decided that if they loved her as much as she loved them, then they would come back. So, she decided to leave them alone, and wait. 

"Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,

And dreamt she heard them bleating;

But when she awoke, she found it a joke,

For they were still a-fleeting."

As she waited, the hot sun beating down, Bo-Peep thought she would take a short nap since the heat and stress of losing her sheep had exhausted her. As she slept, she also dreamt that all of her sheep had come safely back to her. She was leaping for joy and hugging her sheep, when she suddenly awoke and realized... oh, it was only a dream. Bo-Peep proceeded to stare out the window for many more hours, at the sheepless pasture behind her home.

"Then up she took her little crook,

Determin'd for to find them;

She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,

For they'd left all their tails behind 'em."

As Bo-Peep stared, hour after hour, she kept thinking to herself that maybe she should go search for her lost sheep. Then it suddenly occurred to her that maybe the sheep became thirsty and went down to the creek for a sip of ice cold water. So she pulled on her walking boots and trekked through the woods, into a valley towards the the nearby creek. As she was nearing the creek, she saw little white puff balls prancing around just over the next small hill. Bo-Peep became ecstatic at the sight of her sheep and ran up the hill as quickly as she could to meet them. Once she finally reached her flock of sheep, she nearly fainted when she noticed their tails had fallen off! From that moment on, Little Bo-Peep kept a close eye on her sheep, and made sure they never again went near the water in that poisonous little creek that had made their tails fall off.

Litte Bo-Peep looking for her sheep
Source: Wikipedia

Author's Note & Bibliography: Based on the original nursery rhyme "Little Bo-Peep" sourced from The Nursery Rhyme Book  by Andrew Lang (1897).