Sheep-Cote Clod



Icelandic sheep  


In western countries, most children believe in a friendly Santa Claus who arrives on Christmas Eve but there are Icelandic kids who anticipate the arrival of the Yule Lads. The 13 mischievous troll like characters who live somewhere up in the mountains.

Sheep-Cote Clod is the first Yule lad who comes down the town to award the well behaving children with treat at the evening of December 12. One by one, the yule lads start to arrive in the town till December 24. Beginning on the evening of December 11 Icelandic kids will happily put their shoes out on the window sill, hoping for a nice treat. But the kids with bad manners will wake up to a potato.   

Icelandic kids have heard the story of the Yule Lads. That tale has been started to descend from the year 1932. "Yule Lad Peom" is written by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. Jóhannes illustrates Sheep-Cote Clod in the most enchanted way:
The first of them was Sheep-Cote Clod.
He came stiff as wood,
to prey upon the farmer's sheep
as far as he could.
He wished to suck the ewes,
but it was no accident
he couldn't; he had stiff knees
- not to convenient.

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