The Little Lost Lamb

Overview

An ordinary afternoon of minding the herd on the north pasture where Katri feels that she can work on reading the Kalevala without having an incident on her hands becomes the preamble for a novel discovery -- neither Viikuna leading the other cows over the cliff nor Aapeli giving chase after a curious fox -- but rather a lost lamb grazing on the pasture that Pekka denies is a Penttilä asset. Katri leading the cattle back to the Räikkölä farm sets the stage for a soliloquy about the climate patterns of Finland whose most prominent feature Aapeli demonstrates as he repels a pack of hungry wolves stalking the herd during the home commute -- forest fauna not being as reluctant to venture into the open. Back at the ranch, the little lamb quickly becomes the talk of the town when Katri has it explained that she will most likely end up as the sheep's owner considering the circumstances defined by Teemu who gives Katri the syllabus of her duties the next day where she unsuccessfully tries to emulate the bundling techniques of the adults. Ulla brings lunch out to everybody and signals an interest in having Aapeli's company while out on the town but finds that the dachshund is more interested in catching the fox that previously eluded him. Unfortunately, for Katri, Aapeli is ultimately not the only one with a score to settle as the pack of wolves Aapeli repelled earlier decide to try for the sheep in spite of Katri's fierce opposition; a lengthy battle and a nocturnal escort home courtesy of Vihtori later, Katri enjoys a hearty and well-earned meal after reading a letter that Martti has decided to apply himself academically.