And the breeze carried the fragrance of
the growing corn to the nostrils of the browsing cows and tempted them
nearer and nearer to the forbidden feast. But the silver horn was
silent, and before long the cows were feeding upon the Squire's pet
cornfield and the sheep were enjoying themselves amidst the juicy
grasses of the meadows.
The Squire himself was returning from a long, weary ride over his
farms, and when he came to the cornfield and saw the cows trampling
down the grain and feeding upon the golden stalks he was very angry.
"Little Boy Blue!" he cried; "ho! Little Boy Blue, come blow your
horn!" But there was no reply. He rode on a way and now discovered
that the sheep were deep within the meadows, and that made him more
angry still.
"Here, Isaac," he said to a farmer's lad who chanced to pass by,
"where is Little Boy Blue?"
"He 's under the haystack, your honor, fast asleep!" replied Isaac
with a grin, for he had passed that way and seen that the boy was
lying asleep.
"Will you go and wake him?" asked the Squire; "for he must drive out
the sheep and the cows before they do more damage."
"Not I," replied Isaac, "if I wake him he 'll surely cry, for he is
but a baby, and not fit to mind the sheep. But I myself will drive
them out for your honor," and away he ran to do so, thinking that now
the Squire would give him Little Boy Blue's place, and make him the
shepherd boy, for Isaac had long coveted the position.
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