Some years ago, there was a terrific snowstorm in Scotland. The snow lay in great drifts many feet deep. The farmers were very anxious about their sheep, for there were hundreds of them unsheltered on the hills at the time. In one farm, no fewer than three hundred were missing, and the farmers with his men and a faithful sheep dog, named Rough, started to search for them.
When they reached the fields, nothing was to be seen but great masses and drifts of snow, several feet thick, under which the poor sheep were buried. The men tried to penetrate the snow in order to get at the missing animals; but their labor was almost in vain, for it was only by the merest chance that they came across a sheep.
The snow was still falling fast when Rough came to the rescue. He understood what was to be done, and, running quickly over the snow, with short, sharp barks, he dug with his paws little holes in various places.
The men went to work beneath these marks, and under each they found a sheep! Thus they worked hard all night, Rough showing where the sheep were buried and the men digging them out, and most of the sheep were saved.
Credits
Emilie Poulsson was a 19th-century American author and educator best known for her children's stories, songs, and fingerplays that blended gentle moral lessons with vivid, accessible storytelling. "Cleverness of a Sheep Dog" reflects her talent for finding quiet heroism in the natural world, drawing on a real-life Scottish blizzard rescue to craft a story that celebrates animal intelligence.
