My his little soul rest in peace

I wish I had nothing new to report, but unfortunately I have terrible new. Bean died. This morning, we found him dead, strangled with his own rope. I think he got tangled up with Boubou’s rope, and since it was the middle of the night, no one found him until it was too late. When I came out and Ramata told me, I turned right around and went in my room to cry for a good fifteen minutes. He was so young. The mom is devastated and keeps baaing. I’m so full of regret, since last night, I thought, “Maybe I should untie him and let him move around tonight,” but I didn’t, and now it’s too late. I am totally devastated.

Everyone else is pretty down too, though they’re used to it. Oumar says we’ll sell the mom on Sunday and use the money to buy a young sheep that’s been weaned, since now he’s grown attached to the process of coming and feeding the sheep. He moved his own young ram into the courtyard around noon, but the mom doesn’t like it very much and keeps butting it; it’s not her baby, after all.

I’m on the look-out for a kitten now to make me feel better, but I’m afraid that will just die on me too. Here I go and get a little lamb to make me happy and keep me company, and it dies a violent death. Life kind of sucks today.