little lambs

Once a little lamb was born and the Shepherd could tell it was a feeble little lamb who would easily be led astray - who would not readily know the Shepherd's voice. So He slipped a bell around the neck of another little lamb; her sister, born only the summer before. This lamb would know the Shepherds call and would guide the little one in the right paths through the lush valleys and steep mountains. As time went on, the bell became a burden to the older lamb, but she bore it gladly because of her love for the little lamb. Only the Shepherd ever knew how effective and necessary was that bell. One day, when both lambs had grown into wise old ewes, the younger one realized what a gift the older one had been to her and how she had carried an extra burden for all those years, just for her. And she wept at the beauty and importance of the gift.