On a green, grassy field not far away, there lived a kind shepherd. Every day, morning and night, he would spend most of his time with a flock of sheep. Great or small, he took care of them. He would feed them, bathe them, and help them. He kept his sheep together all the time and would lead them to the good places in the field. By his side was Bentley, the loyal sheepdog. Whenever his master was away, Bentley would look out for the flock and protect them from any danger.
Among the shepherd’s sheep, there lived one called Eloise. Like every sheep in the flock, she was as white as snow. Since she was little, she would play with her friends, Leah and Abigail. They enjoyed jumping over fences. Sometimes Abigail would say, “That fence is too high to jump over!” But, Eloise was a very brave sheep. She would fly over and make it through.
But, there was a special kind of fence that the Shepherd built for his sheep. It was incredibly high for any animal to jump over, especially a little lamb. On the other side of the fence, there was a forest with lots of leaves and trees. Because she had never been there, Eloise wanted to explore the forest. But, Leah and Bentley stood in front of her and stopped her. Bentley said, “You must not go over the fence and into the forest, Eloise!” She didn’t understand and asked, “Well, why not?” Firm and gentle, Leah explained, “The Shepherd said that we shouldn’t go in there because we could get lost and may never find our way back.” Eloise still wanted to go into the forest, but she couldn’t bear the thought of disobeying the shepherd. The two sheep went back to the flock.
When the following day came, the forest was all that Eloise could think of. She was distracted so much that she went over to the fence. Making sure that no one was around, Eloise jumped over. When she entered the forest, there were beautiful sunflowers and blooming roses. The little sheep was amazed.
Feeling thirsty, she came upon an enormous water hole. A black pig was also drinking from there.
“May I drink from this water?” she asked.
“Oh, sure! You may drink as much water as you like,” he replied. “I like to come here a lot! There’s more water than at home,” he added. Eloise bowed her head and opened her mouth to drink the water. The cool drink satisfied her dry, itchy throat.
She went to the pig and asked him, “Excuse me, Mr. Pig, but is there any danger in this forest?”
He looked at her in surprise and said, “What danger? Why would you think something silly like that?”
“My friends have told me that the forest is not safe for everyone,” she replied.
The pig laughed, “Well, I never saw any danger in here. When I came to this forest, nothing bad happened to me, so I say it’s safe!”
“Have you always lived here, Mr. Pig?”
“No, I lived with an old farmer and other pigs.”
“Do you miss them?”
“My friends, yes. The farmer, no. He gave too many rules to us and they weren’t very fair.” This made Eloise think about her life with the Shepherd and the other sheep. “The Shepherd did make some rules that I thought were too unfair,” she thought, “Maybe, it’s better for me that I stay here. This place isn’t so bad! After all, there’s more water and shade under the trees and I don’t have to walk a lot to get water.”
When it was nighttime, Eloise laid herself under a tree in the forest. She asked Mr. Pig if he would lie next to her so that she would be less afraid of the dark, but he told her not to worry. “If you need anything, I will be by the water hole,” He promised her, “Goodnight, Eloise!”
“Goodnight, Mr. Pig,” she replied and watched him blend in with the darkness. That night, Eloise had a hard time sleeping. The roots she was lying on were very hard and bumpy, and it was very dark, pitch black. She couldn’t see the moon or the stars. She also heard other noises that she couldn’t figure out. Because it was so dark, she became afraid. “Don’t worry, Eloise. You’re safe under the tree. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she said to herself. But, the noises grew louder. The louder they got, the more scared she got. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, constantly thinking of happy thoughts that came to her mind until she fell asleep.
But when morning came, Eloise wasn’t feeling very well. Her legs felt so sore from sleeping on the roots that she had a hard time walking. Her eyes were still very sleepy and heavy. They closed while she was walking to the water hole. But when she looked at her reflection in the water, Eloise was in shock. Her soft wool was no longer white like the other sheep. It turned black like coal.
“What happened to me?” she cried out. “Why did I turn black?”
“It happened when you were asleep, Eloise,” Mr. Pig told her. “When it was nighttime and you fell asleep, you turned black like I did.” Feeling sad and heartbroken, the black sheep cried out, “But I don’t want to be this way! I like the way I was before!”
“I’m sorry to tell you, Eloise, but you are and you will be like this for the rest of your life,” Mr. Pig said to her. This made her mad. “I’m going home!” she angrily told the pig. But he stopped in front of her and said, “You can’t go home, little sheep. When you’ve changed, there’s nowhere else to go. The only place you’re welcomed to is here.” Shocked & disappointed, Eloise cried.
“What’s the problem?” an unfamiliar voice asked. The black sheep looked up and saw a wolf. He was dark and larger than Eloise. His eyes were golden yellow and his mouth was opened with drool falling out and his sharp teeth showing. The black sheep turned from being heartbroken to afraid. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near a hungry wolf.
“I don’t like to be black,” she muttered.
“And why’s that?” the wolf asked with a deep, scratchy voice.
“Because I like being white more,” Eloise courageously replied.
“Sometimes, black can be more suiting than white. You can do whatever you want with it and not worry about any problems,” the terrifying wolf tried to convince her to believe him. But, her thoughts changed back to the Shepherd and the flock.
“I also miss my family,” she announced to him. This bugged the wolf even more and he started to get a little meaner. “Well, your Shepherd and your family won’t want you back anymore. You left them and you belong here. This is your home now and forever.”
Eloise grew even more afraid. She realized that she couldn’t stay now that the wolf was in her way. It was time for her to leave.
“You are a mean and hungry wolf! I do not want to see you again! If I stay, you will eat me!” After she said that, the little black sheep dashed off in less than a heartbeat. The wolf started running after her. Eloise ran and ran as fast as she could. “You’ll never get away from me, little sheep! You are mine forever!” he called out to her. They sped through the forest. Eloise grew tired and thirsty, but her fear of the wolf was greater than her being tired. She ran faster than that wolf could. “I’ve got to keep running or that wolf will eat me alive!” she thought.
When she got out of the forest, she hurried up the hill. But, there was the high fence. Would Eloise have the strength to jump over it? She knew she could! With a deep breath of courage and confidence, she aimed for the high fence. When she reached it, she leapt and flew over.
As soon as she landed on the other side of the fence, Eloise noticed that the wolf couldn’t jump over. It was much too high for him and he was very tired. The little black sheep knew that she was safe. The wolf couldn’t hurt her anymore. He had anger in his yellow eyes, but he turned around and went back into the forest, never to be seen again.
When her head turned to another way, she saw a pair of human feet in sandals. She looked up and realized whose feet they were. It was the kind and loving Shepherd. He smiled at her, but the little sheep didn’t. She looked back down at the ground, feeling sorry and ashamed for disobeying the Shepherd’s rules.
“Eloise,” he softly spoke her name, “I am so happy to have you back home.” She grew confused.
“But, how can you be happy? I disobeyed you. I am now a black sheep and I’ll never be white again. Please send me away,” she cried out her guilt with tears in her eyes. The Shepherd put his hand on her head and said, “Eloise, don’t ever despair. No matter how black you become, you will always be one of my sheep.” The little sheep embraced the Shepherd and walked home with him.
When they returned home, every one of the sheep was happy to have Eloise back, including Leah, Abigail. As the Good Shepherd always did, he fed Eloise, bathed her and helped her. He took her to the river by the field and washed all of the black color off of her wool with a clean wet sponge. The sponge sucked the black into itself and was squeezed to release the dark color out into the river, letting it flow away. As soon as he finished, Eloise was white again. She felt truly happy and clean as she did before.
From then on, Eloise stayed by the flock for the rest of her life. She never went over the fence again, but stayed with the Good Shepherd. There was a happiness that never ended in the green grassy field.
