Atondido Stories
Why the Lamb Is Meek
Once upon a time there was a little lamb frisking gaily about the
pasture. The bright sunshine and the soft breezes made him very
happy. He had just finished a hearty meal and that made him
happy too. He was the very happiest little lamb in all the world
and he thought that he was the most wonderful little lamb.
A big toad sat on the ground and watched him. After a while
the toad said: "O, little lamb, how are you feeling today?"
The lamb replied that he had never felt better in all his life.
"Even though you are feeling very strong I can pull you into the
sea," said the toad.
The little lamb laughed and laughed until he rolled over on
the ground.
"Just take hold of this rope and I'll show you how easy it is to
pull you into the sea," said the toad.
The lamb took hold of the rope. Then the toad said, "Please
wait a minute while I get a good long distance away from you. I
can pull better when I'm not too near you."
The lamb waited and the toad hopped down to the sea. He
hopped up into a tree which hung over the water's edge and
from there he hopped on to the whale's back. He fastened the
end of the rope around the whale and then he called out to the
lamb: "All ready. Now we'll see how hard you can pull."
When the whale felt the lamb pulling at the rope he swam
away from the shore. No matter how hard the lamb pulled or
how much force he exerted it did not do one bit of good. He was
dragged down to the water's edge as easily as could be.
"I give up," said the lamb as he reached the water's edge.
After that, although the sunshine was just as bright as ever,
any one who watched that little lamb could see that he was a
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