”You won't be able to herd anyone until you can herd yourself.”
Equal parts philosophy, religion and self-help, this is the tale of George's flock of sheep investigating George's death. Yes, the sheep can talk, but only to other sheep. They still behave like proper sheep: grazing, being nervous of the sheepdog, nibbling a geranium or trying to swipe food foolishly ignored by a human. They have more brain power than humans credit them with, but they can be easily distracted. Miss Maple (what a great name) is reputed to be the best at reasoning, Mopple the Whale is the memory sheep, Zora knows about the Abyss, and Othello was in the circus at one point, so understands humans better than the others.
The sheep must move from things they know for sure (sheep become clouds after death, humans are rather dim, goats are crazy) to figure out what is going on in the human village. They have skewed ideas of what motivates people and a well founded fear of Ham, the butcher. Many of their interpretations are charmingly off kilter.
By the end, the sheep and the reader all know what went on, but the sheep can scarcely believe it. These ovine philosophers think that humans are very odd.
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