Orion Magazine

The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary

HAVE PLACED my hand upon a sheep, but that’s about it. By this I mean I have not known a sheep, have not tended to one in any formal capacity. I’ve not, for instance, drawn milk from one or scraped the rot from one’s foot. I’ve not cradled a newborn lamb in my elbow. I’ve only watched from a distance as a flock was steered by a dog across some verdant

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