Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they'll come home,
Bringing their tails behind them.
Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still all fleeting.
This beloved nursery rhyme tells a story that is both a bit scary (she lost her sheep!) and funny (they lost their tails!). The poor tiny girl, trying to do a job that is quite hard for her with her short legs, becomes bewildered. But help is there in the shape of an old lady who first plays a trick on her, telling her that her sheep have lost their tails and she must find them and somehow put them back on. The distraught little BoPeep searches everywhere and when she finally does find the missing tails discovers the joke. But all ends well when the old woman tells her she doesn't need to sew them on because they didn't have any tails to begin with. Everyone has a good laugh and BoPeep lovingly hugs each sheep as they 'come home, wagging their tails behind them.'