Mary's Little Lamb: He Followed Her to School One Day

Chapter one: https://andlatscaptions.blogspot.com/2023/07/marys-little-lamb.html


Connor woke up the next morning to Mary's alarm, one of the few things in her life that was not that stupid song. He rubbed at his eyes before remembering his hooves.

"Good morning, Lilybelle!" Connor hoped his bleat in reply conveyed exactly how annoyed he was that he had gone to bed at her super early little kid bedtime and was now stuck playing lamb for another day. Do you really want to go to school though? A small voice inside asked. Really, though, that was just his luck. His only escape from being a lamb was going to school. "Come on, LIlybelle! Let's go eat breakfast." Connor clambered off of the bed, landing with grace that surprised him on his hooves. His surprise was soon replaced by further irritation as he automatically skipped after Mary, who took just as much delight as yesterday in leading him on a circuitous route, his bell jangling. It's way too early for this Connor thought, but his bleats of protest were hardly audible over Mary singing and his bell tinkling.

Finally, they reached the breakfast table. Connor sat in his spot, rolling his eyes as Mary patted him on the head between his ears.

"Mary, no lambs at the breakfast table."

"Baa!"

"See? Lilybelle agrees." Mom said. "Go put him outside in his pen. His breakfast is waiting for him there."

"Ok!" Mary took this latest revelation in stride, grinning as she hurried to the door, turning to watch Lilybelle skip along after her. She knew that, technically, that was her brother there, but it was so much more fun to think of him as Lilybelle. All he had done was bleat since yesterday afternoon and he acted so much like the lamb from the storybook version she had. In fact, it felt almost right. Like he was meant to be Lilybelle. And she, of course, was Mary. The idea of a lamb of her own as a constant companion made her so happy, she kissed Connor right on the nose. "I love you, Lilybelle."

"Baa." She could not be sure what Connor had tried to say back. It did not really matter, did it? Deciding that he should get used to baaing and other sheep noises, she just shrugged and resumed leading him outside to where a white fence stood. This must be Lilybelle's pen! Mary smiled and walked inside it. Even when she walked normally, Lilybelle skipped so merrily! What a perfect little lamb he was! She knew he was trying to make it seem like he wasn't doing it by choice, but she suspected he was enjoying it more than he was letting on. Why else would he skip so much without complaining? The Connor she knew before yesterday never missed a chance to complain. And loudly! Oh, well. She had Lilybelle now.

Mary quickly stepped back outside the pen and closed the gate, smiling sweetly at her very own little lamb.

"Bye-bye, Lilybelle. I'll be inside eating my girl breakfast while you eat your lamb breakfast." Lilybelle looked at her, confused. "Sheep eat grass and clover and stuff. Graze, Lilybelle!"

"I'm a human!" Connor bleated after her, but he knew she could not understand a word. "At least I'm alone." Connor said. He looked around the pen before he realized what had just happened. "I can talk!" He grinned from ear to ear. "Now if only I could get this thing off. I need to pee." He pawed at his outfit, but could make no more progress than he had the night before. This was getting bad! "What am I supposed to do?" He wondered out loud. Did this mean he did not have to go to school? He liked the idea of that, but he knew Mary would just make him play lamb with her this afternoon. He had to figure out a way out of this and soon. “But first I gotta pee.” Should he wet himself? That would sure show Mom, but... "I'm not that desperate." He muttered. A better idea came to mind; he would climb over the stupid fence, march inside, and demand that Mom get him out of this thing, even if it meant going to school. "Better do it soon." He muttered. "If anyone walking to school sees me dressed as some sissy sheep, I'll never live it down." Part of him longed for someone to acknowledge him as a human again, but not like that! He eyed the fence and made up his mind. It was now or never.

He took a step forward, wobbling a bit on his hooves. How did it make any sense that he could skip on them all day without an issue but walking was so hard? As he reached the fence, he realized he did not need to pee anymore. Had… had he gone? Sheep weren't potty trained…

“I am not a sheep though!”

The fence was low enough that he could swing a raised leg over it without much issue. He pawed once again at the woolly hood covering his head, but it still would not budge. He groaned, but knew it was fine. He would march inside and insist, demand, maybe even beg for Mom to let this game finally end.

“Bye, Mommy!” Mary said, coming out the front door at that exact moment.

“Baa.” Connor said, the bleat taking the place of a plethora of inappropriate words.

“Lilybelle!” Mary exclaimed. “Do you want to come to school with me?” Any idiot could tell that his bleat was a firm no, but Mary just smiled. “Hooray!” She walked right past him with a knowing smile, not even having to look back to see Connor pivot on his hooves and begin to skip along behind her, getting farther and farther from the house with every step.

“Baa!” Connor bleated, hoping that somehow, Mary would realize this was too far.

“We're almost there, Lilybelle!” Mary said cheerfully. This could not be happening! He was still in bed. That had to be it. He was having a nightmare. That was the only way he could possibly be skipping along, waving his mittened hands, dressed as a sheep.

“Hi, Mary.” A little girl smiled at Mary before looking at Connor behind her. “Is… is that-”

“My very own little lamb.” Mary said proudly.

“Wow!” The little girl said. “What's his name?” Connor braced himself.

“Lillybelle!” Mary exclaimed.

“Can I pet him?”

“Sure, but you also gotta help me.”

“With what?” The little girl came over and ran her hand along Connor's side, seemingly unaware of his attempts to bat her away. “He's sooooo soft!”

“He is.” Mary agreed. “But we gotta get him into school somehow.”

“Why?”

“Cuz it's the song.” Mary said as if that made perfect sense. I've been stuck as a sheep for like twenty-four hours. How does any of this make sense? “Any ideas, Cassie?”

“I think so.” Cassie said after a moment. She leaned over and whispered to Mary.

“Oh! Perfect!” She turned and, holding her hands around her mouth, bellowed across the schoolyard. “Jessica, Marie, Sammy.”

“And Olivia.”

“Olivia!” Added Mary. The girls all came over and Connor grimaced as they all were told he was a lamb named Lillybelle and they were allowed to pet him all they wanted. Some of these girls had been over to their house. How did none of them question that he was Mary's brother?

“So, here's the plan.” Mary said. “Lilybelle, you need to get down on all fours.” She waited as Connor, bleating in irritation, complied. “Now, we all form a ring around Lilybelle and then we'll go into class.”

“What happens once we're in there?”

“Once we're in there?” Mary shrugged. “Mrs. Hale has to let him stay, right?”

“Baa.” Connor said, which meant 'this is a stupid plan', but he crawled along in the middle of the circle of girls. Somehow, they made it into the classroom and Mary ordered Connor to sit on the floor beside her desk.

“Is that a sheep?” The boy next to Connor said.

“Duh, Derek.” Mary said. “He's my little lamb, Lilybelle.”

“His name is Lilybelle!?” Connor looked at the boy, silently saying that he could not believe it either. Mary should've turned you into a sheep.

“He looks like a Lilybelle.” Olivia said. “And he's really soft.”

“You can pet him, if you're nice.”

“No way.” Derek said, even if he did look a little curious. “What's a dumb lamb even do?”

“He baas and he follows me everywhere.” Mary said. Derek only scoffed. “And he cavorts.”

“What's that even mean?” Mary had gotten it from one of her storybooks, so she wasn't one hundred percent certain herself.

“Go on, Lilybelle. Cavort.”

“Baa!” Connor replied. A chorus of girls exclaimed at how adorable it sounded. He sighed and got to his hooves.

“Cavort.” Mary repeated. Connor wanted to say he was working on it, but instead, he began to skip around the room, his mittens waving to and fro. The room erupted in laughter, but he found himself unable to stop.

Around and around the room he went, the laughter continuing, but on his third merry lap, something new happened. Derek got to his feet and began to skip along after Connor in a fair approximation of how he looked. Then another boy joined, then another. A few girls joined and soon, Connor had half the class skipping along after him, none of them seeming to be able to stop anymore than he could. Those who weren't skipping laughed and laughed.

“What is going on here?” Mrs. Hale asked, walking in. The skipping stopped and the laughter died down.

“a lamb, at school.” One of the kids explained as if it was obvious. Mrs. Hale gave Connor a cold stare.

“And why is there a sheep in here?”

“He's mine, Mrs. Hale.” Mary said.

“Hmm.” The teacher frowned. “Mary, can I see you and your lamb out in the hall?” Even chastised as they were, a few kids snickered as Mary shuffled out of the classroom and Connor skipped merrily after her.

“I'm really sorry, Mrs. Hale.”

“I know you love your lamb, but” she sighed. “School is no place for a lamb, Mary.” Mrs. Hale said. “I think it would be best if you take your lamb to the front office while I call your parents.”

“Yes, Mrs. Hale.” Mary shuffled along, her spirits only slightly lifted when she saw Lilybelle skipping along behind her. “You really do follow me wherever I go, huh?” She rubbed her eyes to rid them of tears. “I guess this is how the song ends.” She gave Connor's ear a little rub. He felt a little bad for Mary. Had he made the kids laugh and play? That's what the song said, but that didn't make any sense! Either way, was it really fair for her to get in trouble?

Mary and Connor sat in the office until Mom and Dad showed up. Connor expected them to see him as a sheep, so he was startled when Dad pulled him up off of his place on the floor at Mary's feet.

“Daddy! You're hurting Lilybelle!” Mary exclaimed as Dad tugged on Connor's hood. “Connor?” Mary blinked and rubbed at her eyes as if she did not believe it.

“I don't know whose idea this was.” Mom said. “But you two are grounded.”

“Out to the car.” Dad said gruffly. Connor wobbled his way out, tumbling into the backseat and yanking at his hooves until they came off. He wiggled his toes and almost stripped to his underwear right then and there. He was free!

“That was a fun game.” Mary murmured to him. “I'll have to find a new favorite song for us to play, huh?”