The Parable of The Good Shepherd (Revised)

There once was a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. He looked after them, tended them and cared for them.

Then one day, one of his sheep went missing. His friends and neighbours told him that they he should let that sheep go – that he still had another ninety nine to care for. 

But the shepherd said "No – I shall go forth and look for this sheep, because truly the fate of one sheep is as important as the fate of the rest"

So he went forth, and looked all around. And then he found the lost sheep, and there was much rejoicing. 

But when he returned to his flock, he found that the other ninety nine sheep had been brutally slaughtered by wolves.

He went to his neighbours for help, but they simply said "We told you what would happen – it’s not our problem if you let your flock get slaughtered"

And so the shepherd was forced to eat the one sheep he had left, then he went bankrupt and died alone in the gutter.

(This lesson was brought to you by The Lady of Grantham and her disciples who rule our country with her continuing vision of love and compassion).