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SHEPHERDS 189
The Shepherd then goes to one child, pretends to taste— using fingers of both hands as though holding a spoon and fork —on the top of the child's head, saying, " That's my sheep," " That's Tuesday," &c, till he comes to the end of the row, then they all shout out and rush home to the fold, the Wolf with them. A fresh Shepherd and Wolf are chosen, and the game starts once more.—Cornwall (Miss I. Barclay).
One player is chosen to be the Shepherd, another the Thief, and the rest the sheep, who are arranged in a long row. The Shepherd pretends to be asleep; the Thief takes away one of the sheep and hides it; he then says—
Thief—" Shepherdy, shepherdy, count your sheep ! " Shepherd—" I can't come now, I'm fast asleep."
Thief-—" If you don't come now, they'll all be gone, So shepherdy, shepherdy, come along! "
The Shepherd counts the sheep, and missing one, asks where it is gone. The Thief says, " It is gone to get fat! " The Shepherd goes to sleep again, and the same performance is repeated till all the sheep are hidden; the Shepherd goes in search of them, and when found they join him in the pursuit of the Thief.—Oswestry (Burne's Shropshire Folk-lore) p. 520).
Mr. Northall (Folk Rhymes, p. 391) gives a version from Warwickshire, and says he believes the Shepherd's dog to be the true thief who hides his propensity in the dialogue— Bow, wow, wow, What's the matter now ? A leg of a louse came over my house, And stole one of my fat sheep away.
The game is played as in Shropshire. The dialogue in the Cornish game is similar to that of " Witch." See " Wolf."
Shepherds
One child stands alone, facing the others in a line opposite. The single child shouts, " Shepherds, shepherds, give warning." The others reply, " Warn away ! warn away ! " Then she asks, "How many sheep have you got?" They answer, " More than you can carry away." She runs and catches one —they two join hands and chase the rest; each one, as caught, |
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