Chapter 1: Sheep Dreams (working title)

Welcome to my quaint little fairytale. I have provided, for your enjoyment, a very rough draft of what I hope will become a very awesome story. While you are reviewing, keep in mind that what I need the most help with is the flow of the story, the characterization of the creatures, and the inconsistencies within the plot. I know there are currently many grammatical errors and tense changes but I can deal with those anytime. Of urgent matter is the need to bring this story back to life. Check my portfolio for the chapters that follow to see what I mean - the story began as a NaNoWriMo hopeful but quickly sucked the life out of me. I have hope it can be saved, will you help me???

p.s. The last paragraph is so weak I'll certainly trash it and start anew, but there it lies for now...


Chapter 1.


Many moons ago, in a world far, far away – well, not so far away, it turns out, as the world in question is really only 27000 feet above sea level, and yet it seems pretty far away for a four - legged non-wing-bearing creature- there was a herd of sheep. Anyway, the sheep were not the typical, wool-bearing, grass eating type of sheep. No, they were the atypical, fence-jumping, cloud munching sort. But that is not their whole story.

The sheep of the cloud sector have many more duties than you would imagine. Not only is there the stereotypical running and jumping of the fences, but they are also in charge of coordinating the dreams of their assigned human counterpart. I bet you did not know that. In reality, fence-jumping is just a trick they use to speed up the slumbering so they can get to the good stuff - the dreams.

Larry was a particularly lazy sheep. He was assigned to a particularly lazy man named Henry. Henry and Larry had a lot in common. .For example, they both loved to watch movies. They both loved to eat. And they both hated working.

It is similar to the question of ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?” except in that case, it is safe to deduce that the egg came first, being laid by scaly reptilian types long before the feathered chicken had evolved. It was slightly more difficult to decide which of this pair had been the first to become so sluggish. My bet is that it was a tie.

Henry was Larry’s first and only charge. When he was a wee lamb, Larry’s mother had tried to teach him her values. He had always been a little rough around the edges, never really seeming to follow her guidance. As a weanling, Larry had even been caught on the wrong side of the fence. You know – the side with the greener grass, so to speak. But remember, there is no grass in the cloudland that these particular sheep called home, and as a result, the temptation was more akin to a cotton-candy type cloud. The whole community was shocked and had dubbed him “Larry the Lush.” He had didn’t really care what they called him as long as he could still savor his rich sugary snacks. Larry continued to hop the fence for many months after that. Eventually, the decidedly more delicious condensed candy drops got the better of him, and he became so plump that hopping in and out of the pasture was no longer a possibility.

As he got rounder and rounder, Larry’s energy and mischievous tendencies fell to the wayside. He gave up his curious childhood pranks and became a permanent fixture on the family’s couch. When he was awake, which was never for more than a few hours at a time, Larry would absorb himself in an animated film. Larry’s mother worried about his health and future. She would try to entice him with trays of calorie-free oxygen bubbles and he would eat whatever she brought him. But it didn’t help to change his attitude. He rarely attended school, a fact which deeply troubled the elegant ewe. She was certain that he would not be allowed to join the Dreamforce, and then what? Would her baby be shipped back down to solid land?

The procedure for getting into the Dreamforce was simple. Go to school, get good grades, follow the community protocol, and then prove your worth by keeping your clients dreaming. When some of the young sheep struggled academically, tutors were provided. Every graduate in the past ten years had been accepted into the Dreamforce. No one was sure what would happen when Larry became a senior. No sheep had ever so willingly failed to meet the entrance requirements, and no resident sheep of Cloudtown had ever wanted to do anything else. It was a privilege to be a Dream Sheep. Who would ever throw that chance away?

Larry’s dad had been a Grasseater. He had worked hard as a youth – exceptionally hard – and had been noticed by important sheep. Against all odds, he had been sent to Cloudtown to join the Dreamforce. It was considered to be a real upward movement in class. Cloudtown was very exclusive at the time, and the upper class society of the dreamers was not very accepting. However, his dedication and skill proved to make him very valuable to the Force. He met and married Larry’s mother, and within a few years was promoted to the scouting division of the Force. He was an inspiration to youngsters of both societies.

Because Larry’s dad has such a great reputation, and had such an important position of authority in the sky, it was particularly disappointing to him to watch Larry waste his adolescent years. Always at the back of his mind was the possibility of having to refuse his own son’s application to the Dreamforce. For the longest time, he wasn’t even sure if Larry would apply to the Force, and the thought was devastating. What would Larry do if he chose not to join the Force? He had worked so hard to achieve his own dream, he couldn’t imagine having a dreamless son.

Well, the time came soon enough, and Larry did indeed apply to join the Dreamforce, although his application was weak and uninspired. No one had really expected him to apply, and no one was sure exactly when he had decided to sign up. All they knew was that there was no chance that he could ever be accepted.
Larry’s dad was in a real pickle. Above all else, he wanted his son to turn his life around, to become a dedicated employee and a renowned dream maker. But his job was to weed out the unworthy (a job, I might add, that had been particularly easy for the last ten years since all applicants were talented and committed). The alternative was impossible to consider – applicants who were not accepted were sent down. Down. They were sent down to earth. The thought of losing his only son, of never being able to see him again – it was just too much, and Larry’s dad knew that such a decision would crush his wife. She was delusional and somehow still believed in Larry’s potential.

A compromise was made; a compromise that was potentially, well, compromising to Larry’s dad’s career. He decided to grant Larry a conditional acceptance to the Dreamforce. Larry would be required to maintain the dreams of a human earthling, attend extra classes to upgrade his academic skills, and adhere to all community regulations. Failure to adhere to these conditions meant instant deportation to the land below. Larry’s dad hoped beyond hope that Larry would live up to the challenge – anything less would not only be embarrassing and devastating to the family, but it would also spell instant demotion for the old ram as well. He placed his faith in Larry, crossed his hoof-halves, and wished his son luck.

But I digress. It doesn’t really matter how Larry became the laziest member of the Dreamforce. It only matters that he was lazy. And so our story begins.