Once upon a time, there was a very contented shepherd whose sheep followed him wherever he went—except for one. This sheep was unlike the others. Its thick black wool set it apart from the rest, all of which were white.
The black sheep kept straying away from the others and wandering off on its own.
The day came for shearing. A fine pile of white wool had gathered at the shepherd’s feet. The black sheep was last. The shepherd thought he would get a good price for its wool: it was black, but thick and soft. Yet the black sheep ran away, far from the flock.
The shepherd called his dog, and they set off in pursuit. But suddenly, they could no longer see her. They searched for a long time and could not find her. The sheep had hidden in a rocky cave. In the darkness, black as she was, she became almost invisible. There she stayed, making the cave her sheepfold. From time to time, she would emerge and run alone across the deserted meadows.
Autumn arrived. November storms swept across the hills of Judea. A cold wind blew. The solitary sheep was cold despite her thick fleece. She stood alone and sad in the empty fields. Then it began to snow. The snow was falling thicker and thicker.
The black sheep could no longer find her cave. Had she got lost? Suddenly, she saw a strange glow. She headed towards the light and found her cave.
The interior was strangely bright. A man and a woman had taken refuge right there. The black sheep wanted to run away, but then she saw a tiny, tiny newborn baby. Was it the baby who was giving off the light?
The woman was holding him close to her chest to keep him warm. But the baby began to cry. The black sheep did not run away. She thought of her soft, thick wool. She moved closer and closer to the baby, and curled up beside him. The woman, moved by compassion, laid the baby down in the wool. He stopped crying. The black sheep hardly dared to breathe. Only once did she startle: the shepherd had arrived at the entrance. Behind him were the other sheep. The shepherd saw the black sheep and said, ‘So my lost sheep had saved its wool for this child. It may stay: it shall be my gift.’ He carefully covered the child and the sheep with his warm shepherd’s cloak. Then, satisfied, he went on his way, and the other sheep followed him.