She was 9. And obsessed with animals. How could she not be? She was the daughter of a farmer, animals were life.

She especially loved the baby animals. They were so fuzzy, so adorable, she simply could not put them down. She was always rolling in the dirt with various baby pigs, or tiny goats, or anything that was even remotely cute.

One day, the old ewe gave birth. The sounds of maternal distress came from the barn. At the time, she was helping her dad do chores. But she quickly became distracted by the sheep in labor.

The baby lamb was sickly. Frail and underweight. And it turns out that sheep aren’t the world’s greatest moms. The mama sheep rejected her own baby and walked away.

Her dad said the lamb would die without its mother. Just part of the great circle of life, he said. Nothing anyone could do about it.

The little girl pleaded with her father. “Please let me keep it!”

Tears streamed down her little cheeks. A little girl with tear-stained cheeks is pretty hard to ignore.

Her dad gave in. But keeping the lamb was a bad idea, he reminded her. It would surely die. After all, the lamb couldn’t even stand up on its own. Usually, a lamb can stand upright a few minutes after birth.

The little girl scooped up the tiny creature. She cradled the lamb. And my sources say the lamb even slept with her that night, unbeknownst to her parents.

The next morning, a glimmer of hope.

When the girl awoke, the lamb was standing on its own legs, looking right at her. And he was even able to drink milk.

After that, the girl was never seen without the lamb. She bottle fed it. She took it everywhere. Wherever she went, the lamb followed.

One day, the girl was walking to school with her brother. The lamb began chasing after.

The girl told the lamb to “Go back home!”

But tragically, the lamb did not speak English. Also, the girl wasn’t trying very hard to prevent the lamb from tagging along. She carried the animal over each creek and cattle fence.

When she arrived at the one-room schoolhouse, she hid the lamb under her desk. She covered it with a blanket. But when she was called to the chalkboard, the lamb popped out of its hiding place. The animal wobbled up the aisle after her.

The teacher was supremely ticked off. The girl got into a LOT of trouble. After all, you don’t bring animals into the classroom. Especially not animals that poop.

The girl was weeping. She was embarrassed. Her life was over. At least that’s how it felt. A 9-year-old girl feels things deeply.

An older student named John found her crying. He tried to cheer her up, but nothing was working. After school, the girl emerged from the schoolhouse, crestfallen. The lamb was waiting by the door. John watched them leave and his heart was broken.

The next day at school, John handed the girl a slip of paper. It was a poem he’d written about the incident. To cheer her up. To dry the tears of this 9-year-old girl, named Mary Sawyer.

“Mary had a little lamb,
“Its fleece was white as snow…”

But if you ask me, which you didn’t, I think it is the final and widely unknown verse of this 1830 poem that delivers the moral of our story:

“‘What makes the lamb love Mary so?’
“The eager children cry.
“‘Oh, Mary loves the lamb, you know,’
“The teacher did reply.
“‘And you each gentle animal
“‘In confidence may bind,
“‘And make them follow at your call,
“‘If you are always kind.’”