• Saturday Evening Post (December 30, 1933)   "The Sheep"   A poem. p 24. The cover has a New Year's illustration drawn by J. C. Leyendecker.  [HARPER]

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from Saturday Evening Post
The Sheep
by Ellis Parker Butler

The Sheep adorns the landscape rural
And is both singular and plural --
It gives grammarians the creeps
To hear one say, "A flock of sheeps."

The Sheep is gentle, meek and mild,
And led in herds by man or child --
Being less savage than the rabbit,
Sheep are gregarious by habit.

The Sheep grows wool and thus promotes
The making of vests, pants and coats --
Vests, pants and coats and woolen cloths
Provide good food for hungry moths.

With vegetables added to
The Sheep, we get our mutton stew --
Experiments long since revealed
The Sheep should first be killed and peeled.

Thus, with our debt to them so deep,
All men should cry "Praise be for Sheep!" --
And, if we happen to be shepherds,
"Praise be they're not as fierce as leopards!"

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