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Ewetopia, A Land Far From Normal - Chapter 10
By Marie Ellen Pacha
All went as planned for awhile at least (at least an hour), until a piercing scream was heard from Lamby's new room. It was so loud that Mumm heard it from the cement pond where she was holding the exercise class, and Shepherd of course heard it from just outside the palace. The scream was accentuated by the yelping of Lamby's newest and smallest guardian, the sheltie.
Shepherd's immediate reaction was that Lamby had missed a meal, but after recounting the events of the day he realized that was not the case and took off post haste in the direction of her room, closely followed by Sisy, and meeting Mumm and Eddie at the doorway. They pushed the door open slowly, knowing full well that they had not allowed Lamby to have any sharp objects and certain from the sound of her bleating that she was still alive. And alive she was...and kicking as well.
Mumm's eyes opened wide as she surveyed the sight in front of her, and she muttered, "Oh my!"
Eddie who had just arrived to rehearse with the cows and flamingoes echoed with, "Oh dear!" But her eyes were twinkling as she covered her mouth with her hand and prevented a giggle from escaping.
Shepherd viewed his charge in amazement as he simply said, "Good grief!"
And Sisy, well Sisy dissolved into spasms of outrageous laughter at the sight of Lamby upside down in the paint tray, all four hooves flaying wildly as the sheltie barked at his new mistress.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Lamby's voice was full of righteous indignation.
"Why of course Lamby, but however did you come to be in that position?" Shepherd said as he carefully lifted his young charge out of the paint.
"Well it wasn't easy!" she responded. "I was trying to reach that corner" and she indicated a corner far from the ground, "but I didn't want to move the ladder...so I strrrrrrretched as far as I could, and then I found myself in the air. And then I found myself in the paint! And why did it take you so long to get here? And I think I need a bath!"
"Uhh, I think you need more than a bath Lamby." Shepherd spoke reluctantly. He was reading the paint label and Lamby had ordered an oil based paint, which meant it would not simply wash off.
Lamby looked at him suspiciously. "What EXACTLY does that mean?"
"It means," it was hard for Sisy to speak through his laughter, "it means you will have to be sheared!"
He should have spoken with more caution for Lamby's response was to bleat at the top of her lungs, and everyone placed their hands over their ears at the volume. Even the pup covered his little ears with his paws. Lamby glared at Sisy in response before answering.
"But my fleece...and my tie dye, and the Olympics..." and Lamby started to cry, but at least softly.
"Don't cry Lamby, I think we can save most of your fleece...perhaps just a trim will do it," Shepherd said as he headed to get his shears. The ladies quickly cleaned up the rest of the mess and finished the corner that Lamby had been stretching to reach. She had nearly completed the entire room, before her accident, and it was...well it was certainly PINK!
Shepherd returned with the shears and they placed Lamby on a table. He tried, he really tried to take off just a layer of her fleece, but her weight had pushed the paint in deeper at least down the center of her coat. Knowing that she wanted to keep as much as possible he continued to trim only the areas that the paint had soaked. The ladies continued to console Lamby and promised a new tie dye as soon as he was finished. Sisy continued to stand in the corner laughing and being of absolutely no use whatsoever.
Shepherd finally stood back and turned off the shears. "That's the best I can do," he said, cautiously, not wanting to alarm Lamby again.
"How's it look? Where's the mirror?" she asked, eager to see her new "do".
"Well..." and Eddie paused. "Well..." Mumm was at a loss for words too.
"WELL WHAT?" Lamby's voice was getting louder again.
"Well I guess you could call it a reverse Mohawk," Shepherd said, using his calmest voice. "And on you...it's very attractive!"
"What exactly is a reverse Mohawk, or a forward one for that matter?" Lamby questioned, not at all reassured by his answer.
"I think she'll be quite the trend setter, don't you think?" Eddie said to Mumm, who nodded in agreement before speaking. "Oh yes, it's quite a novel approach!" And Mumm wasn't lying at all.
Lamby's eyes brightened at the thought, and Shepherd finally held the mirror in front of her. She really couldn't see the extent of the shearing, but from the back of her head and straight down to her tail a strip of fleece had been removed nearly down to her skin. "Hmmm, I guess it's not so bad, but can I please get a new tie dye job?"
Mumm and Eddie readily agreed, knowing their ears could not survive another onslaught like the previous one. The sheltie pup looked relieved that Lamby had stopped crying and finally stopped its whining as well.
"By the way, what have you named your pup?" Eddie asked as they prepared to dye Lamby's fleece again.
"Why his name is Butterscotch, cause he's that color." Lamby smiled down at the little fellow who was exhausted by Lamby's stunt. "And besides, it tastes good too!"
Butterscotch smiled back up at her, and then laid quietly in the corner (napping) while the ladies attended to Lamby. It wasn't long before she stood before them all, a tie dyed vision (minus a strip down her back) once again.
Beaming at them all, she question gaily, "Did I miss lunch?" and they hurried to fix a quick meal.
After lunch the ladies helped Lamby arrange the furniture in her new room. For the safety of all concerned parties, Herman and his quills had been designated a permanent resident and given a small room all his own just a doorway away from Lamby. And her room had a separate door leading to Shepherd's room and his pillow in case she had any bad dreams. Butterscotch surveyed her room and dragged the cushion she had prepared for him to the foot of her bed, where he fully intended to guard to the best of his abilities.
Note from the Town Crier: (That's me again.) Events are going to speed up over the next week with the Olympics coming soon, and the residents of our little hamlet will be hard placed to relate them accurately. There's a lot more coming soon too, but they don't know it yet.
Continue to Chapter 11
This article is © copyrighted by Marie Ellen Pacha. Any use of this article, in full or in part, is strictly prohibited without written permission from Marie Ellen Pacha.
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