//------------------------------//
// Themaskedferret's "Sheepish Talk" (FanOfMostEverything's "The Perfect Barnstorm") 
// Story: Never The Final Word (Vol. 1) 
// by horizon 
//------------------------------//

 


Applejack, wandering past the sheep pen, pauses and glances over at a specific sheep.

"Hey, Lanolin."

"Yeah, AJ?"

"How'd you get your name? I mean, lanolin is something in your fleece right? So why'd your momma name you after the stuff?"

"Oh hello, Applejack dear, what brings you by? Lanny dear, are you being a good boy?"

"Yesss mooom. AJ just wanted to know why you named me Lanolin."

"Oh goodness yes! Well, it's a very funny story, you see —"

"Oh my gosh, Mom! I can't believe you're doing this! I'm not a lamb anymore. I'm almost a full grown ram."

"Lanolin Loaghton Gansey! How dare you be so rude in front of Missus Applejack! You need to apologize right now or I will give you such a butting."

"(sigh) I'm sorry, AJ. I know better and I should behave myself."

"Aww shoot, Lanolin, it's not a trouble. I know Apple Bloom sometimes gets a mite touchy about things too."

"There's my good boy. Why don't you run along and we'll chat. I'm sure I saw Tsigai and Polypay over by the far side of the paddock."

"Thanks mom. See ya, AJ."

"Children are so particular sometimes. One minute they're still stumbling around all knock-kneed and the next minute their horns are budding and they don't have any time for you."

"You raised a good one, Missus Gansey. Don't worry about that."

"Thank you, Applejack dear. You always say the nicest things. Now, did Lanny say you had a question about his name?"

"Oh shoot, yeah I did. I was wondering why you named him like you did. Just a distinct name, y'know?"

"Goodness, yes. Well, I don't have to tell you my mother was very perturbed when I didn't decide to name him after my late father. Of course my father was a champion sheep and changed his name to his show name. He decided being Mr. Afrare wasn't good enough, and he had to become Suffolk's Seven By Obvious. Hmph. As if he needed more ego boosting ..."

"Uh, Missus Gansey?"

"Oh yes! I'm sorry dear, I just get sort of distracted at times. Anyways. When Lanolin was born, he had the sweetest softest little curly coat you ever saw on a lamb. The midwife said if you squeezed him like a sponge you would be able to see the lanolin oozing out of him. So we decided that had to be his name."

Mrs. Gansey pauses.

"He's a bit sensitive about it."









Further Author's Notes:

I'm an avid fiber artist (I like yarn) so when I spotted that line, it sparked something and before I knew it, I had a story. This is my first actual written-entirely-by-me-on-fimfic story (though I edit a lot), so it felt appropriate for it to be on sheep.

Minor notes for folks who want to know I did too much research.

Lanolin is the waxy stuff in wool that means sheep don't get waterlogged and keeps your hands soft. Different types of sheep have different amounts.

Sheep tend to be judged on two main categories: meat and fleece. Usually they're bred for one or the other, but fleece-bearing meat sheep aren't uncommon.

Because I'm a dork, here are images to what a Manx Loaghton, Polypay, and Tsigai sheep look like. Afrare was me misspelling Altay and deciding I liked the look better.

I think Manx Loaghton are neat because they're one of several sheep breeds that have more than one set of horns, up to six. I wanted to use Jacob sheep as I love the piebald look. Their other claim to fame is that people think they're the sheep Noah took on the Ark.

Suffolk's Seven By Obvious is a real winning sheep, but they only have his picture in PDFs. I didn't realize that sheep have show names same as dogs. I always thought they were simply given numbers.

A gansey or guernsey is a type of wool sweater made for fishermen. The yarn is spun and knit very tightly so it would help repel water.

– Themaskedferret