He waits all day beside his little flock
And asks the passing stranger what's o'clock
But those who often pass his daily tasks
Look at their watch and tell before he asks.
He mutters stories to himself and lies
Where the thick hedge the warmest house supplies,
And when he hears the hunters far and wide
He climbs the highest tree to see them ride
He climbs till all the fields are bleak and bare
And makes the crow's nest an easy chair.
And soon his sheep are gone in other grounds
He hastens down and fears his master come.
He stops the gap and keeps them all in bounds
And tends them closely till it's time for home.