Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow and everywhere that Mary went that lamb was sure to go. That’s how the nursery rhyme goes, right?
What if that wasn’t the real story? What if there was more to it? Let's meet Mary and her little lamb....
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Mary was a young girl who lived on the outskirts of a forest. The cottage that she shared with her mother, father, and older brother Thomas was modest but comfortable. Their father was the local village’s carpenter and their mother baked the best apple pie in town. Thomas was only 6, but he had already started to learn the trade from their father. He was usually at their workshop in town whenever their father was there. With mother always busy tending to the garden, cooking, and cleaning, this left Mary a lot of free time.
Mary liked to wander in the forest after her chores were done, picking flowers to weave into crowns or skipping stones down at the creek. It was hard because it was so shallow, but Mary was the village’s champion rock skipper.
One day, Mary was wandering in the woods collecting her favorite flowers- daisies. The sunlight was particularly bright that day and glinted golden in her honey blonde hair. Mary was an unusually pretty girl, with porcelain skin, the barest hint of freckles, and luminous blue eyes. She wore a simple cotton dress, perfect for a jaunt in the woods.
This day was the perfect day. The smell of rain from yesterday’s squall still hung in the air, mingling with the smells of late summer. The sun was bright and warm on Mary’s face. Mary skipped through the forest, heading to her favorite flower collecting spot that wasn't too far from the creek.
As Mary played, her glinting hair and shining eyes caught the notice of someone, something that was in the woods with her. A faerie leered at her from behind an old oak tree, using faerie glamour to hide itself from her sight. It is the way of the fae folk to covet anything of beauty and to think of humans as nothing more than playthings. This faerie was no exception.
It flitted from tree to tree, easily keeping pace with the human girl. Under its glamour, a wicked grin was spreading as it finally decided on a plan. Its sharp teeth would have glimmered in the sun, were it not disguised.
It had been watching her for several days now, taking note of her interests, her likes and dislikes. Like all young girls, Mary had a fondness for anything cute and fluffy. Snickering evilly to itself, the faerie manipulated its glamour to disguise itself as a fluffy, little lamb. Feigning weakness and fear, it scrambled out from under a bush, bleating pathetically.
Mary started, dropping the stones she had been collecting to skip after she made herself a flower crown. She looked in fear towards the lamb, her eyes softening as she took in the poor, scared little thing. She pursed her lips, frowning.
“Poor wee thing, what are you doing out here? Did someone lose you?” she crooned, approaching the lamb tentatively, speaking softly, and moving slowly so as not to spook it. The lamb took a tentative step towards her outstretched hand, shaking. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you,” she said, closing the last few inches between them to gently stroke the lamb’s head. Mary sat crisscross on the ground and, with much hesitation, the lamb eventually climbed onto her lap.
From that day on, everywhere that Mary went, that lamb was sure to go. It followed her as she did all of her daily chores, whenever she went into town, and on her excursions out to the woods. Mary came to love her little lamb, with its snow white fleece and big, adoring eyes. Soon everyone in the village knew of Mary and her little lamb.
When summer came to an end, Mary went back to school one day. Of course, her little lamb had to tag along. Mary tried to get it to go back home, but the lamb wouldn’t be deterred. When she reached the school, there was no hiding the lamb. Delighted by the infamous lamb, the children began to laugh and play. Mary smiled shyly, laying one hand on the lamb's head.
The teacher came outside to usher the unruly children into the classroom, scolding Mary for distracting them and breaking the school’s rule against pets. Mary cried, arms around her lamb’s neck, but the teacher wouldn’t let the little lamb come into the classroom.
All day, Mary looked forlornly out the window at her little lamb, who had lingered near. It was waiting patiently until Mary reappeared.
Finally, the school day ended and Mary and the rest of the children ran outside, squealing with delight. They were so excited to play with the little lamb! Spooked by the sudden noise and sound, the lamb bolted, running as fast as it could back towards the cottage and the forest.
The faerie’s plan had gone perfectly. Mary was so in love with her little lamb now that she chased it as fast as her legs would carry her, faster than any of the other children, running after it into the woods. She quickly lost everyone and was soon out of sight. The faerie had completely captured her heart; Mary was as good as its now.
It lead her on a merry chase deeper and deeper into the woods where the sun almost didn’t show anymore. When it tired of the chase, it settled into a clearing of droopy blue flowers, curling up in a fluffy little ball in the middle of the field. Mary rushed in shortly after, sobbing, with tears streaming down her face. When she saw her lamb laying down in the field, she collapsed beside it, hugging it to her and crying. “Oh my little lamb, I was so scared! I thought you would be lost forever!”
Soon, her sobs died down and she began to feel her eyelids drooping. She rubbed at her eyes roughly and tried to stand, but found that she couldn’t. The sweet, gentle scent of the blue flowers filled her every thought and soon, she was curled up fast asleep in the field, her cheek pressed into a patch of soft, dewy moss.
Once her breathing became even, the lamb stood up and shook out its fur. There was a shimmer of light and the faerie shed its glamour standing over her, grinning viciously in triumph. It scooped her up in its arms and set off deeper into the woods, whistling a jaunty tune as Mary slumbered.
Mary’s mother, father, brother, and the villagers looked and looked all over the woods for her. They called her name until they went hoarse. After a few days, the villagers stopped looking, but her family kept trying, searching high and low. After a few weeks, they stopped looking too. Mary and her little lamb were never seen again.