The Sheep Mans Christmas
by MURAKAMI Haruki
Translated by Christophor Allison
While it was yet high summer, the Sheep Man was asked to pose some music for Christmas. The Sheep Man and his sheep visitor, who had e to ask him to uake the position, sweated profusely uheir summer sheep suits. As long as summer lasted, the Sheep Man was quite miserable, because he was but a poor sheep man and could not afford an air ditioner. As the fan slapped around and around in circles, the sheep ears of the two sheep fellows fluttered softly in the breeze.
「We, the Sheep Men』s cil,」 began the Sheep Man』s visitor, unloosening the faste his collar so as to allow the wind from the fan to blow in, 「every year selee sheep, blessed with prodigious musical talent, to usi honour of our Most Holy Patron, the Sheep Saint. This music will thence be performed on Christmas Day. This year, happily, you have been chosen.」
「Oh, I see,」 said the Sheep Man.
「This year especially, it being the 2500th anniversary of His passing, we desire particularly splendid music, befitting to this sacred event,」 he cluded.
「I see, I see,」 said the Sheep Man, scratg his ears.
「Christmas is still four and a half months away,」 he thought to himself. 「With that much time, I certainly pose some magnifit sheep music.」
「I』ll be happy to do it. You t on me,」 he replied, his chest swelling with pride. 「I』ll certainly do my best to write excellent sheep music.
September passed, and then October and November, but the Sheep Man hadn』t been able to begin the music requested by the Sheep Men』s cil. Because the Sheep Man worked in the neighborhood donut shop, he had very little time to devote to the position. Moreover, whenever he began to play his ramshackle old piano, the wife of the b house』s landlord would invariably e up the steps and pound on his door.
「Cut that racket out! I barely here the television.」
「I』m terribly sorry. But since I have to have this musie by Christmas, might I beg of you to bear with me a little while?」 the Sheep Man said meekly.
「What a idiotic thing to say,」 erupted the landlord』s wife. 「If you don』t like it, you just leave right now. Just because we let weirdoes like you live here doesn』t mean that you make a laughing stock out of us. If this is a problem for you, well, too bad.」
The Sheep Man gazed at the dar with a feeling of dread. Even though Christmas was just four short weeks away, he hadn』t been able to write a single bar of the promised music, since he couldn』t play the piano.
One day, the Sheep Man was sitting in the park, eating donuts with something of a disturbed tenance, when he roached by the Sheep Professor. 「What』s wrong, my dear Sheep lad?」 the Sheep Professor enquired.
「I』m not feeling very well. Even though Christmas is ing, something is really b me. That is to say, Christmas is part of the problem,」 the Sheep Man began, and then fessed the whole story to the Sheep Professor.
「Hmmm...」 said the Sheep Professor, stroking his beard. 「If that』s the case, I think I help you.」
「Really?」 the Sheep Man replied skeptically. Because the Sheep Professor had only studied sheep-related matters all his life, there had developed among the people in the neighborhood the suspi that he was a little bit queer in the head.
「Yes, really,」 the Sheep Professor said. 「e to my house tonight at 6:00. I』ll teach you excellehods and teiques of position. By