An eerie roar rose in the distance.

Alarmed, Anna grabbed Tabitha’s elbow and pulled her near. “There is not much time until the storm is upon us. Let me carry you,” she urged.

Tabitha shook her head. “I am too big!” she said.

The roar increased behind them.

“I can carry a full-grown ram,” Anna insisted. In a swift motion she hefted Tabitha up and draped her along her shoulders. “I will get you back!” she assured, the muscles in her thighs swelling with effort.

The roar had approached a deafening level by the time Anna and Tabitha reached the caves.

When Anna climbed the last embankment, she spotted Ruth pacing outside the main entrance.

“Tabitha!” she cried. “We were looking everywhere for you!” She helped lower the younger Sister from Anna’s shoulders. “Come inside quickly!” she told them.

“No,” Anna said above the wind. “I need to return to my sheep.”

“But the storm! It is too dangerous!”

Anna shook her head. She helped rotate the great stone at the entrance then urged the women inside. Ruth’s hand then shot out to grab Anna’s tunic before she could depart.

“Be careful, my friend!” she shouted, her expression pained.

Anna nodded and nudged her inside. When they had rotated the stone back into place, sealing the caves, she sprinted back amidst the roiling clouds to find her flock.

Anna sat up at the sound of crackling flames, her eyes swollen from windburn, her tongue thick with thirst. She looked about quickly, uncertain where she was.

Focusing in the semidarkness, her gaze fell on two faces flickering in the firelight.

“You are awake!” Ruth said, her cheeks dimpling with joy.

Anna licked her lips and found them coated with sand. Remembering the storm, she said, “My sheep …” She tried to stand.

Sister Ruth held her down. “The flock is safe,” she told her.

Joan knelt by the fire, her expression drawn and serious. “Tabitha said she heard someone grunting. Did you hear anything?”

Anna wiped the back of a hand across her eyes. “I think she heard a wolf,” she said. “I encountered one and scared it off just before I saw her fleeing.”

Sister Joan persisted. “And you are certain you saw or heard nothing else?”

“I am certain,” Anna said.

Exhaling with relief, Joan sat back.

Ruth bent to uncover Anna’s morning meal. “You must be hungry,” she said.

Anna nodded and broke off a hunk of cheese. “Thank you.”

Joan took Ruth aside and the two spoke in whispers while the shepherd ate. When they had finished, Ruth turned to Anna and said, “You exhibited extraordinary bravery yesterday. Not only in bringing Tabitha safely home, but in returning to save your sheep from harm. And we are all very grateful to you.”

“A shepherd takes care of her flock. First and always,” Anna said, repeating the oft spoken phrase.