It is common knowledge that Farmer H likes to hang out at the barber shop for three or four hours, even though he barely has three or four hairs left on his head. And that he goes on his Goodwill tours several times a week. And that he spends more time at the flea markets than fleas themselves. It was at one of these places that he ran into an old friend.
Let the record show that Farmer H considers a friend to be anyone he's met at some point in his life, or anyone related to anyone he's met. So pardon me if the details of this story are a bit undetailed.
Last week, I mentioned the sheep up on the corner of the blacktop county road. I've written about them before, mainly the dog that dutifully monitors them 24/7. I told Farmer H that I noticed that guy had some sheep again.
"Sometimes I think he might have them in a back pasture, because I still see the dog. Or I think maybe he sends them off to be sheared. I always thought he just bought a bunch, though, and then sold them when the price was high enough, and bought more when the price was low. Sometimes they have their regular wool, and sometimes they're obviously shorn."
"You know, I thought the same thing. But I ran into my buddy at the [can't remember/didn't listen] the other day. He's a son-in-law to the guy that owns that property. And HE told me that those sheep don't get sheared. That they're a special kind of sheep with short hair. And the guy sells them to Muslims for meat. They don't care about the wool. These are special sheep for eating, with short hair."
Hmm...okay. I guess that's possible. I haven't bothered to look them up. I drive past there twice a day. Since I am used to seeing sheep with wool there, and then sheep without wool, and then with wool again...I think somebody may be pulling Farmer H's leg.
Is his leg a leg of mutton? Whoever is pulling Farmer H's leg, will they take hunks of it and wrap them in cloth napkins and stuff them in their pockets?
ReplyDeleteA bald friend used to tell his grandchildren that he had hair, but he wore it on the inside so it didn't get wet when it rained. Maybe that's what those sheep do!!
ReplyDeleteSomeone is definitely pulling Farmer H's leg. Unless there is some special Muslim requirement that their sheep MUST have short wool, but I don't think so. After all, what would be the point? they eat the meat, not the wool. And when you get right down to the nitty-gritty of things, all sheep can be eaten, no matter what type or length of wool they have. The meat just gets tougher as the sheep age.
ReplyDeleteSioux,
ReplyDeleteNo. It's damaged HAMstring from when he hurt his butt at the auction tripping over a rug while carrying a table.
If the napkin-wrapping happens, let's hope that Gramma Mimma never finds out. And that Farmer H can run faster than Copper-Jack.
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fishducky,
That's a great lie to tell to children! I need to let Farmer H know about it. Maybe those sheep can crank that wool in and then reel it out when the rain stops. I'm staying away from them...I'm allergic to lanolin.
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River,
Yeah, and that guy could make money by selling the wool, and then money again selling the bald sheep to the Muslims. It's probably easier to cook a bald sheep.
Special eating sheep indeed!!
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised we're not growing a bumper crop of giant beanstalks.