Stories of Mountain Life 37: Shearing Sheep
English Reading Aloud
< This series is a work of fiction based on a family that actually lived in a mountain village after the war. >
Yuki doesn't know how long the sheep have been there.
As far back as she can remember, they were bleating in a shed in the corner of the field.
Now that she helps feed them, the sheep have grown quite fond of her.
And then spring arrived, and with it, the season for shearing the sheep once again.
The shorn wool is sent to a factory in town.
They pay a fee to have it processed into yarn or wool fabric and sent back.
Since this village is almost entirely self-sufficient,
Father is always thinking of various ways to make ends meet.
It's hard work for the adults, but for the children, sheep shearing is a rather fun event.
Today, Grandpa from Mother's side of the family came to help.
Father spread a straw mat in front of the shed,
brought out the first sheep, laid it on its side, and held it on its back.
The sheep is surprisingly docile once it's in this position,
but since it sometimes kicks its legs and tries to get up,
it's safer to have two people.
Grandpa is holding down its legs.
Father starts shearing from the belly hair.
Next, he moves to the left side of the waist, the chest, and then the neck.
He uses his left hand to smooth out the wrinkles in the sheep's skin
while using his right hand to work the shears.
The shears are heavy, and the sheep has a look on its face that says, "Are you done yet?"
Father is getting tired, too.
When he stands the sheep up halfway through,
it looks terrible, like a coat that's half-taken off.
After that, Grandpa took over.
He shears the rest, moving to the back and then the right side.
If you can shear it properly in order,
the wool stays tangled at the roots and comes off in one clean piece (fleece, Note 1),
but it seems to have broken off in the middle.
Mother, who usually helps by holding the shears,
is just watching with Yuki while holding her younger brother, Bun-chan,
since Grandpa is there.
Grandpa is a master charcoal maker,
but he couldn't exactly be called a master at sheep shearing.
The reason is,
in Yuki's picture diary,
there is an infamous record that says,
"When Grandpa was shearing the beard,
he cut the sheep's skin here and there."
He must not have been able to smooth out the wrinkles in the sheep's skin very well.
"Shearing the beard" is a mistake for "shearing the wool,"
but it brings to mind the poor, painful-looking sheep.
And we know that this was April 19th, the day after the solar eclipse,
which means it was Sunday, April 20th.
Diaries are truly terrifying things.
As an aside, they are apparently also valid as evidence in court.
Regardless, Mom might actually be better at shearing than I am.
It took until evening, but we managed to finish shearing the two sheep,
and Grandpa went home, resented by the blood-stained sheep.
A good while after we sent the shorn wool to the factory in town,
a cute pleated skirt arrived along with some yarn.
This year, we had a skirt made for Yuki-chan.
Yuki-chan was overjoyed and jumped around wearing it, but
before long, she said with a slightly troubled look,
"Mom, this is heavy!"
It seems Mom hadn't realized
that a pure wool skirt could be this heavy.
Even so, Yuki-chan was happy.
Note 1: A fleece is the wool from one sheep shorn in a single connected piece.
Using a whole fleece is similar to cooking a whole fish,
offering the joy of utilizing the material for everything from scarves and sweaters to socks and rugs.
This is the reason why British wool is still sold by the fleece today.
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Stories of Mountain Life 37: Shearing Sheep
< This series is a work of fiction based on a family that actually lived in a mountain village after the war. >
Yuki doesn't know how long the sheep have been there.
By the time she was old enough to remember things, they were already bleating in a shed in the corner of the field.
Now that she helps with feeding them, the sheep have become quite attached to her.
And then spring arrived, and the season for shearing the sheep came around again this year.
The shorn wool is sent to a factory in town.
They pay a processing fee to have it turned into yarn or wool fabric and sent back.
Since this village is almost entirely self-sufficient,
Father is always thinking of various ways to make ends meet.
It's hard work for the adults, but for the children, sheep shearing is a rather fun event.
Today, Grandpa from Mother's side of the family came over to help.
Father spread a straw mat in front of the shed,
brought out the first sheep, laid it on its side, and then held it on its back.
The sheep is surprisingly docile once it's in this position,
but sometimes it kicks its legs and tries to get up,
so it's safer to have two people.
Grandpa is holding down its legs.
Father starts shearing from the wool on the belly.
Next, he moves to the left side of the waist, the chest, and then the neck, in that order.
He uses his left hand to stretch out the wrinkles in the sheep's skin,
while using his right hand to work the shears.
The shears are heavy, and the sheep has a look on its face that says, "Are you done yet?"
so Father is getting tired, too.
When he has sheared half of it and lets the sheep stand up for a moment,
it looks terrible, like a coat that's half-taken off.
After that, Grandpa took over.
He shears the rest, moving to the back and then the right side.
If you can shear it properly in order,
the wool stays tangled at the roots and comes off in one clean piece (fleece, Note 1),
but it seems to have broken halfway through.
Mother, who usually helps by holding the shears,
is just watching with Yuki while holding her younger brother, Bun-chan,
since Grandpa is there.
Grandpa is a master at charcoal making,
but he couldn't exactly be called a master at sheep shearing.
The reason is,
in Yuki's picture diary,
there is an infamous record that says,
"When Grandpa was shearing the beard,
he cut the sheep's skin here and there."
He must not have been able to stretch the wrinkles in the sheep's skin very well.
"Shearing the beard" is a mistake for "shearing the wool,"
but it brings to mind the pitiful sight of the sheep.
And we know that this was April 19th, the day after the solar eclipse,
which means it was Sunday, April 20th.
A diary is a rather frightening thing.
As an aside, it seems it is also valid as evidence in court.
Regardless, Mom might be better at shearing than I am.
It took until evening to finish shearing the two sheep,
and Grandpa went home, resented by the blood-stained sheep.
A good while after we sent the shorn wool to the factory in town,
a cute pleated skirt arrived along with the yarn.
This year, we had a skirt made for Yuki-chan.
Yuki-chan was overjoyed and jumped around wearing it, but
before long, she said with a slightly troubled look,
"Mom, this is heavy!"
It seems Mom hadn't realized
that a pure wool skirt would be this heavy.
Even so, Yuki-chan was happy.
Note 1: A fleece is the wool from one sheep shorn in a single connected piece.
Using a whole fleece is similar to cooking a whole fish,
and there is the joy of making the most of the material for scarves, sweaters, socks, and rugs.
This is the reason why British wool is still sold by the fleece today.
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