Once upon a time in a wet land a Shepherd would toll away day on day .. with whatever he earned selling the hide of his fattened up sheep to the shoemaker , he would spend in the village tavern. He moved from town to town , worked hard and frolicked with all the town folk and women he crossed…he had a wife who beat out the heart he may have once had, for she did not like his work and ways… from a happy carefree hardworking young lad , he became slower and less active and with the years passing , as he changed and became more and more bitter, his sheep stopped thriving and dwindled too .. in time the shepherd’s flock shrunk.
Wanting to find a way out he left for a greener pasture, he wandered aimlessly through the day getting sadder and sadder…till he sold his last sheep and drowned his sorrows in a pint of ale. A few hours later he tottered out drunk, and wandered out randomly up the street … and finally exhausted sat down near a tree trunk resting his weary head.. but even in the state he was in , he felt the tree move.. and looked up to look into the most beautiful eyes of an elephant and the man wept and told her all the years of misery he faced- how no one valued him , how his family didn’t understand him… how he had close to nothing to look forward to in life again…Matka comforted him… and held him with her trunk tightly around him.. And they were inseparable after that. She shaded him from the sun and protected him from the rain. She would stand steady and let him crawl under her..she brought him food to cook with so he was never hungry… she made him laugh till he had tears rolling down his cheeks.. She made him alive again. He did things he hadn’t done before. The sky was blue again not grey and gloomy…and he grew stronger. He felt a new sense of purpose and confidence again… his heart started beating with a happy rhythm again.
In time he found a new patch of grass and she stayed close by always ready to help… Matka was a friendly soul … and soon others came visiting…. while fearful of the shepherd at first , Matka said he could be trusted… Chaloo the Rottweiler was not convinced… and he would bark and bark whenever the shepherd came near in a foul mood… but the shepherd was patient and in time Chaloo would curl up beside him and keep the shepherd warm at night. Once the shepherd earned Chaloo’s trust nothing kept chaloo away.. he guarded and protected the shepherd with all his might. Which was baffling for the shepherd as he had never had someone stand by him so unshakably..
The shepherd loved nuts and soon enough Pyper the squirrel drew closer .. Matka and Pyper were great friends.. Matka was calm and solid while Pyper would constantly be running in circles chasing her tail.. she jumped all over the shepherd and he would laugh happily and play. But sometimes she would land on her head and that would annoy him for the games would end and he would need to take care of her then. He only wanted himself to be happy and would get upset if anything came in the way to stop it. The animals didn’t register this side of him often enough as they were happy.
The shepherd’s confidence grew each day, he was happy with this new family. They took care of them. They kept him warm. They were loyal. They loved him and followed him no matter what cloud was hanging over, they didn’t know how dark it was in his heart and head and so they believed in all he said.
As the years passed the shepherd got restless. He wanted to travel again .. and so he did .. always with the promise he would be back and he loved them… many moons passed .. Matka had a baby and named her Mione … Pyper and Mione got on very well and Pyper calmed down.. Chaloo looked out for the flock … waiting for the shepherd’s to return.. when the shepherd returned it had been years.. they wrote to him and never heard back. They had been sick. They had been chased by the forest wardens , and he had ignored them , wrapped up only in his own fun and frolic and thinking nothing of his past present or future. He walked into the angry brood without an apology on his lips.. more bitter and sullen than ever before… the shepherd’s knew how to play his cards … and at the end of the day they were only animals… they trusted him blindly … he said he was back and wouldn’t leave them again… he said he loved them and realised he valued them very very much and so they forgot his grumpiness, they helped cheer him up as much as possible and they all were happy for a while.
But the shepherd was secretive and a very self-centered man. In anger he would kick Chaloo and then say it was in his sleep… in desperation for women of his own species he would run and climb the tallest tree and go deaf when Mione called out to him to play … insecure despite his outward arrogance he would run fast when Matka asked him to pull his weight coz he knew she wouldn’t catch him. She would let him come back in due time.. for he always did.. Pyper would watch all this and realise they had all grown older and wiser.. while he was desperately trying to find his youth again. In the process only getting more and more resentful, lazy and a recluse…
But he had convinced himself being a shepherd was in his veins .. he did not know how to get beyond his belief of there was something better out there .. he did not know how to make the most out of the wonderful world he had .... he craved wandering like a vampire craves blood and being human , he knew no matter what , these were just animals , they would always be there for him like they always have for they were far better at love and loyalty and caring and friendship than any human he had ever met before.
The more restless he got, the wider birth the animals gave him.. but it wasn’t enough..his fear and frustration had frozen his heart again.. and he finally told them he was leaving… Matka stood stoic , Chaloo barked and barked in anger .pyper ran circles around him telling him this was not right for him.. she had been watching him for years.. he was only going to get hurt by his own bad decisions. And Mione ,cried.. she cried and cried as he walked away ..
“ you promised you wouldn’t leave us again.. you promised…” she wailed…
But the stupid heartless self centred shepherd looked over his shoulder and simply said “ Mione promise breaker shoemaker …and that is who I am off to see…for maybe that’s all I will ever be… c’est la vie”
And the night got quiet as he could be seen no more.. but his mismatched flock had more faith in him than he had in himself.. and they looked towards the horizon everyday , praying he was well and hoping to see him walk over the hill again...
