Barnaby the Runaway Sheep: A Parable of the Lost Sheep

Barnaby the sheep loves life on the farm. He especially enjoys hearing the tall shepherd’s call, summoning the flock. The tall shepherd’s son notices that Barnaby is always the first to answer the summons and to celebrate with his wiggle dance.

There is only one reason Barnaby refuses to come when the tall shepherd calls. The little sheep is terrified of the snip, snip, snip of the shearing clippers. He tries to put his worries aside by remembering how much he enjoys the tall shepherd’s call and the way the boy, the small shepherd, scritch-scritch-scratches his back. But when Barnaby learns that tomorrow is shearing day, he tries to run away. Though he’s not successful at first, soon he succeeds.

Barnaby is elated to have escaped the horror of the shearing clippers and to find a cave in which to live. He does a wiggle dance to celebrate. Even though the surrounding area has plenty of grass to stave off his hunger, he has a funny feeling in his belly that something is missing. Still, the fear of the shearing clippers motivates Barnaby to stay away from home.

However, as the weeks pass, Barnaby has a problem he can’t ignore because it keeps on growing; his wool is getting thicker and he’s becoming uncomfortable.

Now Barnaby wants to go home!

Unbeknownst to the stubborn sheep, the tall shepherd and the small shepherd have never stopped searching for him. When they find Barnaby, defeated and lonely, they bring him home. When the tall shepherd shears off Barnaby’s excessive wool, he learns that his fears were unfounded because the tall shepherd and the small shepherd love him and will do only what is best for him.

Illustrator Sayani Mukherjee’s humorous artwork and author Maria Antonia’s charming story are sure to delight young children. In an author note, Maria Antonia points readers to Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:3-7. She writes, “Sometimes, we can be like Barnaby. We let worry or fear fill our minds, and we forget to trust Jesus. But like the shepherds who came looking for Barnaby, Jesus comes looking for us when we hide. Our Good Shepherd loves us and promises to be with us always.” (Paraclete Press)