The Black Sheep

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s comforting and emotionally warm: the ‘different’ child gets a positive role and a proud, loving ending. Great for bedtime reassurance about being yourself.

Story Synopsis

In a green pasture, the sheep are washed and shorn, and they complain about losing their warm wool. One sheep stands out: a Black Sheep with dark fleece, who wonders if she fits in with the others. As time passes, the farmer collects the wool and brings it to be made into clothing. The Black Sheep learns something important: her dark wool can be especially useful. It can become a strong, warm coat—something that helps a child stay cozy. Instead of feeling odd or left out, she begins to see her difference as a gift. When the family returns with new clothes—a coat for a little boy and a dress for his mother—the Black Sheep recognizes her own wool in the warmth they wear. The boy pats her gently, and she feels proud, not because she had the most wool, but because her wool became comfort for someone else. It’s a tender tale about belonging: sometimes what makes you ‘different’ is exactly what makes you needed.

Story Excerpt

It was a bright spring day. The sun felt warm, and the new grass in the pasture looked so green and soft that the sheep thought they had never tasted anything so good. That morning, something strange had happened. The farmer had led the sheep down to the brook and washed them. Then, one by one, he laid each sheep on the grass and used big shiny shears to clip off the thick wool from their backs. The sheep did not like it much. Sometimes the shears tugged, and that pinched. And when the wool was gone, the sheep felt funny and light, as if their warm blanket had been taken away. They watched the farmer and his helper carry the wool up to the house in great bags. An old ram, thin and grumpy, stamped his hoof. “ I hope they are happy now, ” he said crossly, “ after taking all our soft, warm fleece! ” A sheep blinked and asked, “ What will they do with it? ” “ Oh, ” said the ram, “ they will spin it into thread and make coats and dresses. People are strange. No wool grows on them at all, so they take ours to keep warm. ” The Black Sheep listened quietly. Then she said in a gentle voice, “ It must be hard to be a person and have no wool. I feel sorry for the little boy who lives in the lane. He will need something warm when winter comes. ” “ But it’s not fair! ” the ram went on. “ We grew it. We worked for it! ” A young lamb named…

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