The Warrior Sheep Down Under by Christopher Russell Page B

protectively in front of his own little flock.
    He and the other warriors glanced around at the roomy, comfortable pen into which they’d been driven. Actually, it was all right. Better than their little hold on-board Destiny . Almost as nice as Ida’s barn back in Eppingham. Except that the gate was securely locked. And the ship was now moving.
    Oxo turned to the group of stranger sheep again. Apart from the ram, they’d moved as far as they could go against the bars at the far end of the pen.
    â€œSo, what’s going on here, mate?” Oxo asked, eyeing the other large ram.
    â€œRelocation,” said the ram. Then he added pointedly, “For the chosen few.”
    â€œAh…” said Sal. “That will be us. We are all rare breeds. We have often been chosen.”
    The ram looked disbelievingly at her muddy fleece. “Nice to hear it,” he said, though he couldn’t think what they might have been chosen for. “Us lot are Merinos, and…”
    â€œOhmygrass…” wailed Jaycey. “Are you geysers ? Are you going to whoosh us up in the air any minute now?”
    The ram blinked hard. “Erm…No, actually.”
    Wills had wriggled forward and was standing beside Oxo. “Excuse me,” he said politely. “Relocation means moving to live somewhere else, doesn’t it?”
    â€œRight,” said the ram, relieved to hear a question that made sense. “Our owner in New Zealand has sold us to a farmer in Oz. On account of us Merinos having the finest wool in the world.”
    â€œNot!” whispered Jaycey from the safety of Sal’s side. “So not …”
    But Sal was suddenly all aquiver. “Oz?” she gasped. “You mean…Australia?”
    The ram backed away slightly. What had he said now? “Sure. Australia. What else?”
    â€œI knew it…” Sal charged across the pen, flakes of gray mud flicking from her fleece, and planted a kiss on the ram’s nose.
    He was too surprised to move or speak.
    â€œTotally fleeced up!” cried Sal as she ran back to the warriors. “See, all of you! We’re on our way to Australia! Our fairy godtingy is still guiding us.”
    Wills wasn’t quite sure how she made that out, but what did it matter? They were certainly on a ship going in the right direction.
    â€œHigh hooves…?” asked Sal, still quivering with excitement.
    The warriors each raised a front hoof and clacked them together.
    â€œHigh hooves!” they cried.
    â€œBig shout out to the fairy godtingy, yo!” added Links.
    The Chosen Few looked at each other and shook their heads.
    â€œCrazy Brits,” muttered the large ram.
    â€¢ • •
    The journey took three days and in that time the Chosen Few and the warriors got to know each other better. Sal explained about Tuftella, the maiden in distress, and their mission to save her.
    â€œAwesome,” the Chosen Few said when she’d finally finished. “That’s, er…fantastic.” But as soon as she turned away they pulled “crazy Brit” faces at each other.
    Jaycey had to admit that the Merino rams were rather handsome, so she hid herself away behind Sal, nibbling frantically at her fleece until she’d got rid of all the gray mud and most of the rotten-egg smell. Then she spent a lot of time polishing her hooves on the straw and fluttering her eyelashes.
    â€¢ • •
    Meanwhile, on-board Destiny , the only fluttering being done was by stomachs. Destiny was smaller than the cargo ship and it went up and down a lot more. Alice was very ill.
    â€œThis is always a rough crossing,” Skipper Ed told Deidre. He tried to sound sympathetic. Alice hadn’t come out of her cabin for two days, which meant that for two days he hadn’t been asked when they were going to arrive. Or been called Ted.
    Deidre lurched onward with the bowl of thin soup and slice of dry toast she