Page 29 - SuperCowboyFlipBook

the front end would be safer. I went outside and around the barn to where his head was sticking out. As I pushed the bottle nipple into his mouth, he tried to ram me. I was glad he was stuck. I couldn’t get him to open his mouth. He clamped his teeth shut, and when I put the nipple up to his mouth, he tried to bite me. I remembered a trick my dad used on our horse to get her to open her mouth so he could put a bridle on her. I grabbed the lamb around the nose with my fingers and pressed really hard just behind the back teeth. This forced his mouth open just a little, and I shoved the bottle nipple in. He flipped his head, which made me lose my grip, and sprayed me with milk. But he had tasted it. He licked his lips, and when I put the nipple up to his mouth again, he opened it a tiny bit. I got a little milk in his mouth before he jerked away. He licked his lips again, and when I put the bottle up to his mouth the next time, he didn’t pull away at all. He sucked hard, and drained the whole bottle. I petted his head, and he nuzzled against my hand. I even let him suck on my fingers, but then he bit me when he didn’t get any milk out of them. I stayed there all afternoon, talking to him and petting him. “What should I name you?” I asked. He just baaed at me. “I could name you Fluffy,” I suggested. Somehow Fluffy sounded like a girl’s name, and besides, he seemed too tough to be called Fluffy. “How about ‘Lamb,’ or ‘Whitey,’ or ‘Skip’?” I asked. My lamb just baaed his disapproval of all of those names. “How about Mutton?” a voice behind me said.