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The cows and sheep were quietly browsing near him, and he watched them
earnestly for a time, listening to the singing of the birds, and the
gentle tinkling of the cowbells, and the faraway songs of the farmers that
the breeze brought to his ears.
And before he knew it the blue eyes
had closed fast, and the golden head lay back upon the hay, and Little Boy
Blue was fast asleep and dreaming that his mother was well again and had
come to the gate to meet him.
The sheep strayed near the edge of
the meadow and paused, waiting for the warning sound of the horn.
And the breeze carried the fragrance of the growing corn to the nostrils
of the browsing cows and tempted them nearer and nearer to the forbidden
feast. But the silver horn was silent, and before long the cows were
feeding upon the Squire's cornfield and the sheep were enjoying themselves
amidst the juicy grasses of the meadows.
The Squire himself was
returning from a long, weary ride over his farms, and when he came to the
cornfield and saw the cows trampling down the corn and feeding upon the
golden stalks he was very angry.
"Little Boy Blue!" he cried; "Ho!
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn!"
But there was no reply. He rode on and now discovered that the sheep were deep within the meadows, and that made him more angry still.
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