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oren
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Mary, who has been portrayed through the ages as a cute, young girl, was in possession of a small lamb.
How she came to own it, or even why, is unknown, but I suppose it should be noted that this particular lamb had white fleecing. Now, its color had nothing to do with the plot of her story but the author was attempting to help with visualization for some reason.
Mary was a girl on the go. She wasn't one for lying around, wasting her days, but would rather be off somewhere, galavanting around the town.
Mary's diminutive lamb, it turns out, was prone to accompany her on her frequent jaunts, although it isn't clear whether Mary enjoyed this fact, or simply tolerated it.
On a particular school day, Mary's pint-sized partner decided to tag along as she made her way to the school house. Now, it should be noted that even though the lamb was prone to follow Mary, it had never done so when she left for school. The reason or reasons why the lamb had never done this has been lost over time, but one might assume the lamb was normally asleep when Mary left for school. This also may offer some insight into Mary's thoughts about the animal following her everywhere she went. Did Mary sneak off to school without waking her lamb? Was this an opportunity to rid herself of the little parasite? We may never know.
Whether Mary was happy about it or not, however, the thing followed her to school one day.
The story jumps ahead at this point and leaves a few questions unanswered. We find out that all the children were amused. Their laughing has never been explained, but it might be that Mary was being made fun of by her peers. If this was case, her possible disdain for the creature would be intensified at this point. Nevertheless, the children spent time playing.
A school teacher is never mentioned. Most illustrations show a one-room schoolhouse with many children running amok. If a teacher is present, it's a woman who seems to be enjoying the mayhem. Most historians agree that this scenario was unlikely. In order for the students to have so much time playing, it is agreed that the teacher must have been detained somehow. Perhaps she/he had a fear of farm animals, and the children took advantage of the fact, or maybe they found a way to restrain him/her.
At this time, I invite others to join this blathe, by offering their own perspectives on the subject.
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