Sheep

"Well how are you this morning?" David asked as he stopped to talk with a friend. "I think it is a beautiful day, really. The sun is hidden behind some soft clouds that remind me of...well, you!" he laughed heartily as he patted the sheep on the head and lay down on the field. "Today is going to be a good day." he said again to the sheep. He found them remarkable conversationalists. "I don't know why, but I can feel it."

"Hey! Boy!" a neighboring shepherd yelled over the fence.

David sighed and pulled himself up, leaning heavily on his staff. He really wanted it to be a lazy sort of day, but maybe that wasn't going to happen. "What's going on friend?" he asked pleasently.

"Your sheep were grazing on my field." he said harshly. "I chased them off but it didn't look like they headed back to your property." David checked his annoyance and refrained from saying anything harsh. "You always seem to respect our boundries boy and I didn't want your master to beat you for losing a half a dozen sheep. They went south towards the canyon."

David nodded his thanks and began walking the direction that was indicated. He saw a few of his sheep following him and began a conversation to pass the time. "Odd, don't you think, that while I've been tending father's sheep for years now our neighbor still doesn't realize that I'm his son? Ah well, shepherds are usually quiet and keep to themselves anyways; I know I've never had a conversation with the man myself so I suppose I can't say anything about his not knowing me. Regardless, why would he chase off your brothers like that? He could have just talked to our sheperds last night and informed them of the issue, he didn't need to run them off the field like that."

Soon David found himself leaving the grassy hillside and walking down a path strewn with rocks and pitfalls. He called to his sheep and they bleated their response but sounded far away and difficult to get to. With a deep sigh he began his descent, listening to the echoing bleats of his sheep, wishing he could get back to his hilltop and lyre.