‘Is she going to die?’ Tom’s face broke Maggie’s heart. He looked up at her with pleading puppy dog eyes. The trouble was Maggie wasn’t one for soft-soaping a situation.

‘I don’t know. We can only do our best for her. The rest is up to her.’

‘You have to save her!’ His voice was choked but at the same time vehement.

Maggie wondered what was driving that intensity. ‘You can save her, Tom,’ she said, her voice calm and assured.

‘No. No I can’t.’ She noticed a shake in his hands. ‘All yours,’ he said, getting to his feet.

Maggie held the pen firmly shut, stopping him leaving. He gave it a shake in frustration. ‘I’m all clean,’ she said. ‘Anyway this is a good learning experience for you.’ Tom opened his mouth but Maggie didn’t give him time to protest. ‘We need to get the lambs out quickly. They’ve been stuck there too long as it is. Take hold of one leg.’ She pulled a ball of binder twine from her pocket. ‘Tie this on it.’

Tom looked at her for a moment before accepting his fate. He took the offered twine and knelt back down next to Nancy’s tail. ‘Follow that leg all the way up to the lamb’s shoulder…’

Tom started to do as she instructed and then halted. ‘The shoulder is inside the… the… inside Nancy.’ He looked pleadingly at Maggie.

‘Yep and that’s exactly where your hand is going.’ He shook his head but she noted he didn’t let go of the lamb’s front foot. ‘Up to the shoulder,’ she repeated.

Tom swallowed hard, fixed his focus on Maggie and slid his hand up the lamb’s front leg and inside the sheep. His face crumpled in disgust. ‘Got to the head yet?’ she asked.

There was a pause and Tom’s face was one of total concentration. ‘Yeah. There’s its head.’

‘Great. Over the head to the other shoulder and then slide back down the other leg. And then keep a hold of it.’

Tom’s hand reappeared and he gave a cursory glance at it. ‘Eurgh.’

‘Now you know that those two legs belong to the same lamb. Tie the other end of twine onto that leg and then push that third leg back inside out of the way. He’ll have to wait his turn.’

This time Tom didn’t protest and returned his hand to the sheep.

‘You’re a pro now,’ said Maggie, watching progress closely. ‘That’s it – pull the lamb out the same as you did with Barbara.’

Tom did as Maggie instructed and within minutes two more lambs had joined Nancy and baby number one in the pen. While Nancy washed the two new ones, the first one started to feed.

‘Right, Tom. Here’s the thing. One ewe, two teats to feed from and three lambs. You do the maths.’