The Story of Mary Had a Little Lamb...

Pink has awarded me this award. I was thinking I'll never get an award for my blog. I considered me a boring person with a boring blog. Pinks blog: http://taniapink.blogspot.com/
Thank you for this award. I really really appreciate it. Now I have to find 5 girls to give this to. Right now, I can only think of two.

Mayden's Voyage - http://maydensvoyage.blogspot.com/
She a sweetie and I like her.
Carmen - http://caravanne.blogspot.com/
Same with Carmen.

And so starts the famous poem of Mary and her little lamb, a children's poem that has touch us all at one point or another in our lives.

Well if your a Sawyer the poem is deeper and more in depth because the poem is about one of our decedents Mary Elizabeth Sawyer ( married name - Mary E. Tyler ) born March 22, 1806 and died on Dec 11, 1889, she is buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston. A 4th generation American Sawyer. Her farther was Thomas, the son of Ezra Sawyer, and her mother was Elizabeth Houghton.

The story goes that one day in March of 1815 in Sterling, Mass. The lamb was born and it was forsaken by its mother, and was almost dead. (Mary was about 9) Mary asked her farther if she could take it into the house, at first he said no but Mary convinced him to allow her to take the lamb in. She nursed the lamb thru the night and by morning the lamb could stand and its health had improved rapidly. The lamb became a pet and would follow her every were. She would wash and care for the lamb as a mother would care for a child. The lamb was a ewe and lived approximately 4 years, she became the mother of 3 lambs, a single lamb and 2 twins.

One day on her way to school the lamb followed Mary, she did not know this at first, when she did notice her brother Nat suggested that they take the lamb to school. Being a child she thought it was a good idea. When they reached the school yard the teacher had not arrived yet so Mary took the lamb to her seat and put it under her seat and covered it up with a blanket, the lamb laid down and was very quite. Later on when Mary was called to the front of class to recite something the lamb followed her. The teacher (Miss Polly Kimball) laughed and so did all the children, she then took the lamb out side until lunch time when she took the lamb home.

That day a young man was visiting the school by the name of John Roulstone (John was born in 1805 and died on Feb. 20, 1822 in Boston at the age of 17), a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen a minister in Sterling from 1815 - 1819. The man was so inspired by the incident that the next day he rode up on horse back to the school house and handed Mary a piece of paper with the poems for 12 lines written on it.

As written By John Roulstone,

Author of the first twelve lines and as it was given to Mary E. Sawyer

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was as white as snow,
And every were that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day;
That was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play;
To see the lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out;
but still it lingered near;
And waited patiently about;
Till Mary did appear.

By Sara Josepha Hale, Author of the last twelve lines.

And then he ran to her, and laid
His head upon her arm,
As if he said "I'm not afraid,
You'll keep me from all harm."

'What makes the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry;
"O, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The teacher did reply.

"And you each gentle animal
To you, for life may bind,
And make it follow at your call,
If you are always kind."

"Mary had a little lamb" was published in 1830 in her name in a book called "Poems for Our Children". The poem was then republished to music in The Juvenile Lure of 1831 with no author given.

Little Lamb's note: I figured this blog is about lambs so I figured I post about Mary Had a Little Lamb.