Chapter 5: Shep, the Near-sighted Sheep

They all had to admit later that they never would have made it over the mountains without Ken. Carrie and Samantha had hiked the mountain paths so often that they had given little thought to the difficulty of the trip at the beginning, but it soon became abundantly clear that it is one thing to climb a mountain at one's leisure during the daytime, and quite another to try to cross a mountain pass in the dead of night.

After they left the main road and began the trek up the steep mountain slope, the path narrowed so that they had to walk single-file. The moon cast confusing shadows, and they could only see a few feet ahead of them. At one point, they lost the path entirely and had to backtrack to find the trail, so even in their haste, they had to go slowly.

The bag of food that had seemed so small and light at the beginning of their trip set Carrie's shoulders aching as the long hours passed. All that she could see ahead of her was the narrow dirt path that seemed, in the dark, always crisscrossed with dangerous stones and the roots of trees that caught at her shoes and made her stumble. She became so tired that she could barely think. Every muscle of her body screamed at her to stop and lay down to sleep.

Finally, she gasped and sat down on a boulder. Samantha, who was walking behind her, called to those ahead to pause for a moment.

“What is the matter, Carrie?” she asked anxiously.

“I can't keep going, Samantha,” Carrie moaned. “I'm too tired.”

“I'm tired, too,” said Samantha. “But we can't stop here. Can you try to go a little farther?”

“The bag is so heavy,” Carrie gasped. “Maybe I should leave it here.”

“But we will want the food soon,” Samantha worried.

“Does someone need help carrying a bag?” Ken's voice drifted down the path, and even in the dark, they could sense the delight in his tone.

And so they went on, with Ken carrying two bags, and then, toward the early hours of the morning, he took Samantha's also. This seemed to cheer him up, and when at last, Anna surrendered her bag, he actually started to whistle. It should have been annoying, but the effect was really quite cheering, and it helped the girls keep together and move along, even in their exhaustion.

Finally, just when Carrie had despaired of ever seeing anything but the few feet of dirt path ahead of her, the sky in the east began to grow steadily lighter. Her eyes were heavy and swollen with sleeplessness, but she told herself that surely they must have crossed the mountain pass by now and any moment they would find a place to sleep for a while.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to give way beneath her, and she found herself sliding. She had a split second to realize that she must have wandered off the path, but it was too late to save herself now. She grasped at grass stems around her, but they came loose in her hands. She slid further and then she was falling in empty space. She flailed her arms and screamed … and then she landed with a thud on something warm and soft.

“Oof!” she gasped.

“Oof!” said a voice underneath her. “Ouch!”

She lay still for a moment, staring up in confusion at the fading stars above her and wondering where she was.

“Eshushe me,” said a muffled voice. “Would you mind getting off me?”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” said Carrie, wide awake now. She scrambled off the creature that she had landed on. In the dim light of morning, she saw the unmistakable outline of a sheep.

“I'm terribly sorry,” Carrie repeated. “I didn't mean to fall on you.”

The sheep rose in a dignified manner and carefully brushed the dirt off his wool with his delicate cloven hooves. “I see,” he said, in a highly offended tone. “There is only one sheep in all the forest around here, and of all the dreadful luck, you accidentally fell on that one sheep?”

“Well, I didn't fall on purpose,” Carrie replied defensively.

Just then, she heard voices above her on the hillside calling down to her frantically. “Carrie! Carrie! Are you alright?”

“I'm okay!” she shouted up. “I fell on a sheep!”

The sheep gave her an accusing glare, and above her, there was a brief silence while the three other travelers pondered this reply.

“Carrie,” Samantha's voice called out. “Did you fall on your head? Hold on, dear, we are coming down as quickly as we can.”

“I don't think they believe me,” Carrie said to the sheep.

“Shocking!” said the sheep sarcastically.

Carrie looked around at the dense tangle of underbrush around them and the steep slope down which she had just fallen. “What are you doing down here?”

The sheep drew himself up with an air of immense importance. “I am manning my look-out post.”

“Down here?” Carrie asked, puzzled.

Above her, she could hear the scrambling noises of the other three making their way down the slope and Ken's voice saying, “Now then, Anna dear, let me lower you down over that bit of rock there ...”

The sheep coughed. “Well, there are many places that one can man a lookout, and while some locations may be more advantageous than others ….”

“You fell down, too, did you?” Carrie said.

“I suffer from myopia,” said the sheep in a stern and dignified tone. “It is a genetic affliction.”

“You are near-sighted?”

“I prefer the term 'myopic', but yes,” said the sheep.

“How long have you been down here?” asked Carrie.

“I wandered off the path shortly before nightfall,” the sheep replied. “It is a treacherous bit of road, and I am unfamiliar with this part of the forest. It was hardly my fault, especially considering my unfortunate affliction.”

“I suppose it was lucky that I fell on you then,” said Carrie. “Who knows how long you might have been down here otherwise?”

“Nonsense,” the sheep replied. “My fellow soldiers will be looking for me shortly when I do not return from my lookout post. I would have received assistance quite soon enough without the enormous bruise on my back, thank you very much.”

At that moment, Anna's face appeared over the ledge just above them. “Hello, Carrie, “ she said. “You were serious about the sheep after all! Lucky that you fell on a sheep!”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” said the sheep, rubbing his back with one of his hooves.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Sheep,” said Anna. “That was insensitive of me. Carrie, what is your friend's name?”

“We haven't been formally introduced,” the sheep interrupted. “But I am Shep. Captain Shep of the Doll Kingdom Rescue Brigade.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Anna. “Give me your hand and I will help you back up to the path.”

“I don't have hands,” Shep replied stiffly.

Nevertheless, he extended his foreleg to Anna, and Ken caught Carrie's hand, and with a little awkward scrambling, the entire group was soon back on the path again. By now, the rim of the sun had risen over the horizon, and they could see that they had indeed crossed over the mountain pass. Behind them rose the imposing face of the mountain. Below them, an unfamiliar valley stretched out to the horizon, and far away and to the south, Carrie thought she could make out the faint line of the seashore. Ahead and to the left of the path, there was a meadow and a stream, and across the stream, a group of tents were pitched in a circle.

But she had only a minute to take it in.

“Dear me!" A voice rang out behind them. “Captain Shep, you do know that those people are not your fellow soldiers, don't you?”

They turned around. A tall, lanky man, eccentrically dressed in a brown tunic with huge buttons and brilliant red checkered stockings, stood on the path behind them. His face was rosy and damp, as if he were just returning from a wash in a cold mountain creek.

“Your Highness.” Shep bowed his woolly head ever so slightly. “These travelers … er … stumbled on my lookout post during the night.”

Anna snickered.

The sheep twitched his ears back in annoyance. “They stumbled on my lookout post,” he reiterated forcefully, “and, as a precautionary measure, I am bringing them to Your Highness for inquiry.”

“I see.” The tall man pushed a jaunty red cap aside to scratched his head, and he glanced at the group with some evident embarrassment. “Welcome, ladies,” he said politely, “and to you also, “ he added, turning to Ken, who had bent down to pluck a dandelion. “I hope that my … er … visually-challenged sentry didn't delay your travels.”

“Not at all, sir,” Anna replied. “We are quite indebted to your quick-thinking captain for saving our dear friend and sister Carrie from a rather nasty fall. Had he not been there to catch her, she might have landed on her head.”

“Is that so?” the man replied, smiling incredulously.

Shep drew himself up proudly. “Quite so, Your Majesty. You can always count on your trusty lookout in time of need.”

“Well, then, I am glad we could be of help to you,” said the tall man. He extended his hand. “My name is Epaphroditus.”

“That's an unusual name,” Ken said, dropping his dandelion to shake hands with the stranger.

“It's from Philippians,” the man responded. “Not many people know that. But you can call me Paffy.”

“KING Paffy,” the sheep corrected him. “He is King of the Doll Kingdom, and we are traveling these parts on an important mission to come to the aid of Aldervia against the Barbies.”

Next chapter: Prince Johnny Prepares for Battle