A few days ago we went outside to eat popsicles and decided it wasn’t too dreadfully hot so we stayed out for a little bit and played a few rounds of “Run, Sheepy! Run!” For those of you who aren’t familiar with this game it is similar to sharks and minnows and other similar games. I remember playing “Run, Sheepy! Run!” at my Grandma Carter’s house. It was a game she taught us to play and it brought back such fun memories to play it with my own children. I guess different people may have played this differently but this is how she taught it to us. 
There is a mother sheep (or shepherd), a bear (“it”) and the sheep. The bear stands off to one side and the little sheep have to try to make it to the mother sheep without getting tagged when the mother yells to them to run. The thing that makes this game more special (to me anyway) than just plain old tag or sharks and minnows-type games is the dialogue at the beginning between the mother sheep and her lambs. I can almost hear my grandma shouting to us, “Run Sheepy! Run!”
Mother Sheep: Sheepy, Sheepy come home.
Sheep: We daresn’t (don’t ask—that’s just the word Grandma used)
Mother: Why?
Sheep: There’s a big black bear behind the bush.
Mother: What does he eat?
Sheep: Green grass.
Mother: What does he drink?
Sheep: Blue water.
Mother: Run, Sheepy! Run!
One of my kids pointed out that the sheep shouldn’t really be afraid of the bear if he just eats grass. True. Still, the game just isn’t quite the same any other way for me.
3 comments:
Cute pics Jill! i remember playing "No Bears are out Tonight" in Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's backyard. Grandpa A was always the best bear!!
Playing games in your Grandma and Grandpa's back yard are always the best memories! We used to play "Mother May I" in Grandma and Grandpa Turner's back yard. I guess we better start playing games in our back yard so that our grandchildren will have good memories.
--Mom
Just ran onto your blog when I searched for the rules for Run, sheepy. Run! You must have had a great grandma. My father told me he played this game, but he never told me the rules. So glad you remember so that I can tell my children.
Post a Comment