The Ettrick Shepherd

"The Ettrick Shepherd" is a novella by James Baldwin, originally published in 1959. It tells the poignant story of a young African American man's search for identity and belonging in a post-war America marked by racial tension and social upheaval. Blending elements of autobiography and fiction, Baldwin explores themes of love, isolation, and the quest for self-acceptance against the backdrop of his own experiences. Through lyrical prose, the novella captures the struggles and aspirations of its protagonist in a society that often marginalizes him, offering profound insights into the human condition and the complexities of race and identity in America.

• Short story

								
I

In Scotland there once lived a poor shepherd whose name was James Hogg.
His father and grandfather and great-grandfather had all been
shepherds.

It was his business to take care of the sheep which belonged to a rich
landholder by the Ettrick Water. Sometimes he had several hundreds of
lambs to look after. He drove these to the pastures on the hills and
watched them day after day while they fed on the short green grass.

He had a dog which he called Sirrah. This dog helped him watch the
sheep. He would drive them from place to place as his master wished.
Sometimes he would take care of the whole flock while the shepherd was
resting or eating his dinner.

One dark night James Hogg was on the hilltop with a flock of seven
hundred lambs. Sirrah was with him. Suddenly a storm came up. There
was thunder and lightning; the wind blew hard; the rain poured.

The poor lambs were frightened. The shepherd and his dog could not
keep them together. Some of them ran towards the east, some towards
the west, and some towards the south.

The shepherd soon lost sight of them in the darkness. With his lighted
lantern in his hand, he went up and down the rough hills calling for
his lambs.

Two or three other shepherds joined him in the search. All night long
they sought for the lambs.

Morning came and still they sought. They looked, as they thought, in
every place where the lambs might have taken shelter.

At last James Hogg said, "It's of no use; all we can do is to go home
and tell the master that we have lost his whole flock."

They had walked a mile or two towards home, when they came to the edge
of a narrow and deep ravine. They looked down, and at the bottom they
saw some lambs huddled together among the rocks. And there was Sirrah
standing guard over them and looking all around for help "These must
be the lambs that rushed off towards the south," said James Hogg.

The men hurried down and soon saw that the flock was a large one.

"I really believe they are all here," said one.

They counted them and were surprised to find that not one lamb of the
great flock of seven hundred was missing.

How had Sirrah managed to get the three scattered divisions together?
How had he managed to drive all the frightened little animals into
this place of safety?

Nobody could answer these questions. But there was no shepherd in
Scotland that could have done better than Sirrah did that night.

Long afterward James Hogg said, "I never felt so grateful to any
creature below the sun as I did to Sirrah that morning."

II

When James Hogg was a boy, his parents were too poor to send him to
school. By some means, however, he learned to read; and after that he
loved nothing so much as a good book.

There were no libraries near him, and it was hard for him to get books.
But he was anxious to learn. Whenever he could buy or borrow a volume
of prose or verse he carried it with him until he had read it through.
While watching his flocks, he spent much of his time in reading. He
loved poetry and soon began to write poems of his own. These poems
were read and admired by many people.

The name of James Hogg became known all over Scotland. He was often
called the Ettrick Shepherd, because he was the keeper of sheep near
the Ettrick Water.

Many of his poems are still read and loved by children as well as by
grown up men and women. Here is one:--

    A BOY'S SONG

      Where the pools are bright and deep,
      Where the gray trout lies asleep,
      Up the river and o'er the lea,
      That's the way for Billy and me.

      Where the blackbird sings the latest,
      Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest,
      Where the nestlings chirp and flee,
      That's the way for Billy and me.

      Where the mowers mow the cleanest,
      Where the hay lies thick and greenest,
      There to trace the homeward bee,
      That's the way for Billy and me.

      Where the hazel bank is steepest,
      Where the shadow falls the deepest,
      Where the clustering nuts fall free,
      That's the way for Billy and me.

      Why the boys should drive away,
      Little maidens from their play,
      Or love to banter and fight so well,
      That's the thing I never could tell.

      But this I know, I love to play
      In the meadow, among the hay--
      Up the water, and o'er the lea,
      That's the way for Billy and me.
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