Baa'd to Death: A Cozy Mystery Novella (Cozy Mystery Dogs Book 1)

by Sarah Jane Weldon

  Mr Shepphard closed up the chicken shed, walked back to the farmhouse with the basket full of eggs, and popped them inside the porch. “Well now, Mrs Shepphard will get a nice surprise when she sees those now in a minute.”

  I stood on my hind legs and rested my front paws on the shelf inside the porch to get a better look at the basket of eggs. “Why does Mrs Shepphard want those eggs?” I asked Gwawr.

  Aunty Gwawr made sure that I didn’t get too close to the basket, just in case I might knock the eggs to the floor. “She sells them at the market in town”. Aunty Gwawr told me. “But when there are a lot of eggs, like today, she usually makes a nice big cake with them, and if we’re REALLY lucky, Mrs Shepphard might give us a little bit as a treat after work.” Gwawr spoke without taking her eyes off Mr Shepphard. I’d never tried cake before, but it sounded like something very nice, and I was looking forward to trying some later on.

  Mr Shepphard went into another building, and loaded up a large pile of dusty hay onto the back of something he called ‘a tractor’, along with some large sacks of pellets. “You keep a good eye on Beau for me won’t you Gwawr. Don’t want him coming to any harm now”.

  Aunty Gwawr edged me gently away from the large tractor and made me promise not to go near the wheels. “It’s very dangerous Beau. That tractor could eat you in seconds”. I didn’t much like the sound of that, and I didn’t like the roar it made either, but I did enjoy running behind it, along the muddy lane as I tried to keep up with aunty Gwawr. She might be old, but she could run a lot faster than me.

  “Where are we going now aunty?” I asked. Out of puff from all the running.

  “You’ll see in a minute”. Aunty Gwawr said. She was very serious when we were at work and didn’t like to talk too much. At home she was more chatty and relaxed. So I knew we must be doing some very important jobs to help Mr and Mrs Shepphard on the farm.

  Mr Shepphard stopped the tractor by a wooden gate near the muddy lane, and jumped down from the cab, giving his back a little stretch as he walked towards the gate. There was a funny metal catch on it, and he lifted it up after some jiggling the catch. Soon enough, he was back on the tractor driving towards a moving white cloud of what looked to me like balls of fluff. I was so mesmerised that I didn’t realise I was running around in circles in excitement as the wooly balls drew closer to where we had parked up in the field.

  I gasped in awe, not quite believing my eyes as I crept just behind aunty Gwawr. “Woah! What is that?”.

  “Those are sheep. Those are the work. The thing that you are here for”. Aunty Gwawr suddenly looked quite frightening and her face was all taut and snarly.

  “Why are you pulling that funny face?” I asked, feeling a bit worried.

  Aunty Gwawr, flicked her eyes at me momentarily “You see Beau, these are sheep, and if you don’t set the boundaries with them from the off, they’ll just take advantage of you. It’s ever so important that you show them who’s boss. Let them know that YOU are in charge”.

  “Oh. I see”. I tried hard to look all snarly like aunty Gwawr, but it was ever so difficult.

  “Don’t worry” aunty Gwawr reassured me “we’ll work on your bark and growl later. It does take a bit of getting used to”.

  5

  Meredith surveyed his flock as he swayed his large pert bottom from side to side. He was by far the most handsome sheep in the county, and boy did he know it. He had the biggest ram’s horns of all the sheep he had met at the sheep dog trials and he knew that none of the ewes could resist his princely charm.

  “Alright ladies? What’s occurrin’?”. He winked, as he strutted his stuff and sauntered through the lush green field towards Mr Shepphard’s trailer.

  Two curvaceous ewes giggled at him, calling in unison. “Hi-ya Meredith”. The ewes were suddenly overcome by the ram’s presence, and let out big dreamy sighs as their eyes followed him. “Just look at the buns on him. He’s cowin’ mega lush he is”.

  Meredith approached the tractor, his flock following close behind him as he chewed on a blade of grass. It was Spring in the Welsh valleys, and though the golden yellow daffodils had started to make an appearance, the grass was still just shoots in the ground and fresh food was a little scarce. The sheep were glad of Mr Shepphard’s visits, and he was already hard at work filling up the icy metal troughs with the sacks of malty-smelling pellets. It was sheep’s law that no one was allowed to eat a thing until the ram had given permission and had his first nibble, and all eyes were on Meredith the ram as he approached the trough.

  He spotted his arch enemy Gwawr as she lay on the ground, watching Mr Shepphard, but she seemed to have a shadow with her today, a new pup. A tiny little thing.

  Meredith spotted an opportunity to wind Gwawr up immediately. He would do his best to make her look stupid in front of her young protégé. Get his own back on her for always bossing him around in front of his flock.

  Meredith bent his head down low, and pawed the ground with his foot. He was ready to charge Gwawr and he wanted to give her a fright. He was built solid and it wouldn’t take much for him to kill her with his full force if he got the angle right. Meredith ran towards Gwawr at full speed, putting his full body weight behind his thick skull and strong horns. But Gwawr wasn’t stupid. Nor was she in the least bit bothered by him. Instead she just growled fiercely, and stood her ground. Refusing to budge an inch. If anyone was going to look a fool today, it would be Meredith and he would have brought it upon himself.

  Meredith charged again, this time from Gwawr’s side, stopping just inches from her face. “Got yourself a replacement have you, old dog. About time. You’ll be dead soon, an old lady like you” Meredith baa’d.

  Gwawr pulled her eyes tightly into two small black dots and stretched her lips fully, baring her remaining teeth at the arrogant ram. “Oh pack it in, you sledge. No one cares what you think ”. Gwawr was firm and Meredith knew not to push his luck with Mr Shepphard around. After all, he was no Spring chicken himself and it wouldn’t take much for Mr Shepphard to send him off to the market if he put a foot wrong. Meredith would have to work out a better way of getting his own back on Gwawr, but he was in no doubt at all that she would soon get her comeuppance.

  6

  I won’t lie to you, I was very scared of Meredith the ram, and I had to close my eyes when I saw him charge at aunty Gwawr. I really did think that he might batter her to death with those two large horns of his. But aunty Gwawr was far braver than me, and she didn’t seem bothered by Meredith in the slightest.

  “That’s Meredith the ram”. Aunty Gwawr explained as we headed to the farmhouse for Mr Shepphard to have his lunch. “The trick to being a good sheep dog, is to get control of the ram. If you do that, the rest of the flock will follow. And never EVER let the ram see that you are afraid of him, otherwise you’ll have no chance of getting the herd to do what you want them to do. It’s the same when you work with chickens, ducks, almost anything really. You just need to work out which one is the pack leader and focus on getting that one to do as its told. The rest will then follow”.

  My head was already spinning with all the new things I had learnt this morning. “Got it”. I lied. My brain feeling full already. I was trying very hard to remember everything, but I knew I couldn’t remember it all. Aunty Gwawr had told me not to worry about it because everything would come with time and practice.

  Mr Shepphard smiled as he picked me up and carried me the last few feet towards the house. “Looks like you need a nap, little cellar. Don’t worry, Mrs Shepphard will soon have you sorted”.

  I don’t remember much after that, but aunty Gwawr told me I had fallen asleep whilst I was still walking, and that Mr and Mrs Shepphard knew I was going to be a great dog because I was obviously trying so hard to take everything in.

  I slept for ages in my basket, in the end Mr Shepphard and aunty Gwawr had to leave me to rest whilst they went back out to finish the jobs on the farm. I didn’t wake up until they got back as the sun set o
ver the farm, that’s how tired I was. I felt sad that I had missed out on all the excitement of the great outdoors, but aunty Gwawr said not to worry, because there would be plenty of time to go out again another day.

  Mrs Shepphard called me over to the stove and gave me the command to sit and to give her my paw. I remembered everything, and then Mrs Shepphard gave me a piece of cake, just like aunty Gwawr had said she would. It was still a little bit warm, but it tasted really yummy. I couldn’t wait to see if the chickens had laid more eggs in the morning, because if they did, then aunty Gwawr said that Mrs Shepphard would make more cake. And that was why it was ever so important that the two of us looked after the chickens, because if we didn’t, then there would be no more eggs, and no more yummy cake.

  7

  Mr Shepphard was very busy over the next few weeks as lots of the sheep were giving birth to lambs, and he liked to check on them through the night to make sure they came to no harm.

  Then one evening, Mr Shepphard and aunty Gwawr returned to the farmhouse covered in white stuff that aunty Gwawr told me was snow, it was supposed to be Spring, but the weather had unexpectedly turned cold and Mr Shepphard was very worried for his sheep as the temperature plummeted.

  “It’s nobbling out”. Mr Shepphard exclaimed, as he pushed the farmhouse door closed behind him. He stamped his boots on the stone floor to shake off the snow, and Mrs Shepphard hurried over to him, helping him off with his coat. It gave me quite a surprise, as Mr Shepphard suddenly produced from his jacket interior, two tiny white lambs that looked very limp.

  Mrs Shepphard hastily took the two lambs from her husband, and rushed them over to the Aga, pulling out a metal drawer at the bottom of the oven and placing the lambs inside to warm up. “There now. Let’s see if that brings them around.” She said gently.

  Aunty Gwawr rushed over to me and encouraged me to come out of the way, so that I didn’t get under anyone’s feet in all the activity. Mrs Shepphard was busy sitting her husband at the wooden table, and pouring him a large cup of milky tea. He took the cup with eagerness, and wrapped his cold, icy fingers around it in a bid to warm his hands up and ease the pain of the cold.

  “Six new lambs tonight.” Mr Shepphard told his wife. “All healthy, apart from those two. I hope they make it through the night. I expect it’ll be touch and go for a bit. At least they’ll have you to fight their corner for them, poor little mites”.

  Mrs Shepphard smiled at her husband, and rubbed his aching shoulders as he took another swig of his hot, sweet tea. Mrs Shepphard rarely stood still for long, and I watched her keenly as she poured some goat’s milk into a metal saucepan on the stove, and heated it up for the lambs. Out of nowhere she produced two plastic feeding bottles and filled them with the hot liquid. “I hope the lambs are hungry”.

  By the time Mrs Shepphard pulled open the warming drawer of the Aga, the lifeless lambs were moving a little bit, and she quickly wrapped them in warm blankets and placed them on top of a hot water bottle on her knee. The lambs took a few moments to get the hang of the teats on the bottles, but were soon slurping and sucking as they guzzled down the warm milk. “There. That’s better now isn’t it.” Mrs Shepphard encouraged them.

  Mr Shepphard was busy putting his overalls and boots back on ready to head back outside to check on his pregnant ewes. But he hesitated for a second as he turned and spoke to his wife. “What are they?”. He asked, pointing to the two lambs on her knee.

  Mrs Shepphard turned the lambs over. “Twin girls” she replied. “And I’ve got the perfect names for them. Blodwen and Heddwen. Yes that’ll do nicely for them”. Mr Shepphard nodded in agreement. “Blodwen and Heddwen, yes I like that”.

  Aunty Gwawr suddenly jumped up from the dog bed, ready to head back out with Mr Shepphard to check on the pregnant ewes. “You stay here Beau” aunty Gwawr told me.

  I was still feeling tired from running around on the farm all day so I was very happy to stay put in the warmth of Mrs Shepphard’s kitchen. “Do all of the sheep on the farm have names?” I asked.

  “Of course they do” aunty Gwawr replied. “Mr Shepphard knows every sheep by face and by name, and he’s known every single one of them right from the moment they were born, apart from Meredith anyway, he came from a breeder on another farm. That’s why we always win the sheep dog trials Beau. That’s our special trick. You’ll need to learn the names, faces, and personalities of all the sheep too, starting with those two”.

  The kitchen was suddenly filled with a huge gust of wind as Mr Shepphard opened the door to leave, and in a flash, he and aunty Gwawr were gone. Off to check on the sheep.

  I rushed to Mrs Shepphard’s side, tucking my nose in to see what the lambs on her knee smelt like. “Eye-ah” I whispered, not wanting to scare them .“I’m Beau. I’m a sheep dog, and I’m ever so pleased to meet you both”. The two tiny lambs opened their eyes for a moment and from that moment on we became the best of friends.

  8

  Meredith sucked in his chest and let out a deep, loud “Baaaaaaaaaa”. Blodwen and Heddwen looked very impressed. “Do it again uncle” Blodwen called out with glee. She was completely in awe of her uncle.

  “Right. Now girls. Let’s see how you’re getting on with your jumping. Whose going to go first?”. Meredith watched his two nieces as they bounced about on the grass all giddy with excitement. “Oh yes. You are coming along nicely, so much spring in those feet of yours”.

  Meredith’s sister Fflur watched him from a distance as he entertained her twins. It was hard to believe that just a week or so ago, the girls had been limp and lifeless from the icy cold, born on that terrible snowy night. They were already growing fast and had fattened up nicely, keeping them warmer against the elements. Thankfully there had been no more snow since their birth, and the Spring sunshine was warming the fields and encouraging everything to grow now. It was a different world entirely. Soon enough it would be summer and there would be tasty grass for all of them to feast on.

  Fflur turned to her friend Delyth, an elegant sheep with an immaculate woollen coat. There were no plant burrs on her that was for sure. They had been friends since they were lambs and Delyth often popped over to spend time with her friend Fflur. Or rather, to spend time with Fflur’s brother Meredith, whom she had a huge thing for. Sadly for Delyth, Meredith only had eyes for every other ewe that wasn’t Delyth, but Delyth lived in hope.

  “Still single then I see” Delyth sighed as her eyes followed Meredith across the grass as the twins chased him in a game of tag. “No Mrs Meredith yet?”.

  Fflur turned to look at her brother as she answered Delyth’s question. “No, sadly not. Plenty of girls for sure, but no settling down. Shame really, he’s so good with the twins, and there’s no lack of ewes. He really could have the pick of them all, but he just doesn’t seem interested”.

  Delyth sighed. “Such a shame”. Delyth turned her head on an angle to get a better look at Meredith’s muscular torso. He must work out a lot to get a body as rippled as that.

  The two sheep went back to chewing the grass and chatting about the latest gossip in the flock. “Are you going to the meeting at the trough tomorrow night?” Delyth asked, almost forgetting the reason that she had come over to speak to Fflur in the first place.

  “Meeting? Oh, no I’m not going, but Meredith will be there, if there’s anything I need to know, I’m sure he’ll fill me in afterwards”. Fflur understood that Delyth was really only wanting to know if Meredith would be there, so that she could spend time with him. She wasn’t even listening to her right now, but was instead lost in her own fantasy of Meredith. It was a good job that he was blissfully unaware of Delyth’s feelings for him, otherwise he might have been a bit creeped out by her stalker behaviour. Delyth knew more about Meredith than even Meredith himself.

  9

  The sun was just starting to set over the Welsh mountains as the members of the sheep committee gathered around the feeding trough in the field. It was their AGM, a time to catch up
on events within their community and to make changes for the future. A slender ewe by the name of Seren welcomed everyone to the gathering and began the proceedings, whilst her husband Wynn took the minutes.

  Seren looked around at the faces of the committee as she spoke. She was friendly and very popular within the flock. “I know it’s a few months away yet, but I thought we should discuss preparations for the county show. We really want to beat that flock over the hill this year, and we need to give it our all if we want to be in with a chance”.

  “Hear. Hear”. The committee members replied. Apart from Delyth who was too busy watching Meredith as he gazed towards Seren.

  Briallen, a young ewe had given the show a lot of thought and was already buzzing with ideas that might give them the edge. “I was thinking, what if I do everyone’s fleece and make overs for them, so we all look our best on the day? That judge Mr Tilbury was ever so impressed by the lack of tangles in my wool at the last show. So what if I tidy up everyone’s fleece the same?”.

  “Ooh, yes, that’s a great idea” a young ram named Taffy replied. “And I can give everyone vocal coaching and training on stage presence”.

  Meredith was miles away, deep in his thoughts. He loved winning the county shows, but he didn’t much care for that dog Gwawr, always snarling at him and bossing him about in the ring. If she’d only just ask him nicely, he’d be very happy to oblige.

  “What do you think Meredith?” Seren asked, seeing Meredith’s glazed expression.

  “What? Oh yes, yes. Sounds good to me”. Meredith replied, not really having the foggiest idea what had been discussed.

  “So that’s settled then, is it?” Wynn asked the members, keen to make sure that the minutes of the meeting had been recorded accurately. “Oh, I forgot. Any apologies for the minutes? Who are we missing?”.