Our Henry saved a little lamb!
Kristen Holmes, 38, from Dorset, welcomed a fluffy friend into her home…
Walking through the small farm next to our family home with my partner Robin, 49, I call out to the boys.
‘Dexter!’ I say, as my fouryear-old son comes running.
‘Henry!’ I call, as my twoyear-old son follows.
‘Peter Pan!’ I shout, as our family’s lamb trails behind making ‘baa’-ing noises. Two boys, one sheep.
For over 10 years, Robin and I have had a patch of land with a tractor and farm equipment.
And when we welcomed our two sons into the world, we decided to take on a few animals, too.
An alpaca, two llamas, peacocks, guinea fowl, and 12 sheep – the boys love them!
Henry totters about, feeding the sheep grains, whilst Dexter helps scatter hay.
After lambing season this year, we had 15 lambs.
Sadly, one mother-oftwo didn’t take to her second son.
She was really nasty to him, throwing him around the enclosure and headbutting him.
‘It’s so horrible to watch!’ I said to Robin.
The tiny lamb was so delicate and small.
We worried that he wasn’t going to make it.
‘We’ve got to do something!’ I declared.
‘Try putting the two of them in a pen by themselves,’ a local farmer suggested.
‘They might bond!’
And so, we tried closing them off.
But the mother just didn’t want him!
Eventually, we had to take him home ourselves, and try to bottle feed the lamb.
‘This is our baby sheep,’ I told Henry and Dexter. ‘Baby!’ Henry repeated. For a week, we kept him inside the kitchen in a pen.
By pure luck, he was practically housetrained! He played happily with the boys in the garden, kicking a ball around.
Such a gentle, friendly-natured animal.
When we became attached, we decided he needed a proper name. ‘You should call him Peter Pan,’ a friend suggested. ‘He doesn’t have a mum either!’ ‘That works!’ I smiled. Gripping the milk bottle with his chubby little hands, Henry helped me feed Peter Pan every day.
Soon, they were best friends. We even took Peter Pan for walks on a lead in the fields. ‘Come on then!’ I called. Henry loved holding the lead and toddling on the path. Everywhere that Henry went, the lamb was sure to go! So many neighbours mistook Peter Pan for a dog. It was funny watching them double-take. ‘Hello Peter Pan!’ they’d
Peter Pan is Henry’s best friend
beam, walking past.
He became a bit of a local celebrity in our village!
After two weeks, Peter Pan started sleeping outside in the garden, instead of the kitchen. He’d grown so quickly! Then one Sunday at the beginning of June, it was time to take Peter Pan back up to live in the fields.
‘You’ve got to say goodbye now,’ I told Henry, as his bottom lip quivered.
After spending so much time at home during isolation, he’d made a really good friend in Peter Pan.
‘Goodbye baby,’ he cried. Robin and I have decided that we can’t bear to send him to the slaughterhouse.
Peter Pan will definitely stay with us in the fields, and breed with all the other ladies.
Now, we make sure to check up on him every day when we see the other animals. He always remembers us. If I call ‘Peter Pan’, he’ll recognise his name and turn around to me.
Henry still calls him ‘baby’. They run towards each other excitedly when we visit.
It’s so sweet to watch!
I think Peter Pan considers Henry another lamb – he loves to headbutt him and Henry lets him, laughing away.
Peter Pan has truly become part of the family.
It was all meant to be. He’s Henry’s little lamb.