Harold the Goat Visits Shepherd Sam's Pond

Have you ever had a friend who was always wnating to explore something interesting? Well, Harold the Goat is just like that. Harold isn't trying to cause trouble. He's simply curious about everything around him. Today, Harold decides to take another little trip, and before the day is over, we'll discover an important lesson that Jesus taught about people who wander and the loving Shepherd who always comes looking for them.

Let's go see what happens.

This podcast is a fun and wholesome resource for children ages 6–8, sharing gentle farm stories, memorable Bible lessons, and lovable animal friends who help young hearts grow in kindness, faith, and compassion.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello my friends, I'm Shepherd Sam and welcome to my farm. Baxter and I love having visitors come spend time with us. Every day is a new adventure, and we're so glad you're here. Come on, Baxter, let's go see what our farm friends are up to today. Do you remember my friend Mr. Pockets? You probably remember that Mr. Pockets has a hard headed goat named Harold. Now, Harold is a very friendly goat that likes to be around children. But Harold has one little problem. He likes to wander. Now, don't be too hard on him. Harold doesn't wander because he's trying to be naughty. He just gets curious. If he sees a butterfly, he follows it. If he hears a funny sound, he goes to investigate. And if he spots a patch of green grass, off he goes. And there's one thing Harold really likes to do. He likes to go over to my pasture and go swimming in my pond. Now, most goats don't swim very well, but nobody told Harold that on a warm summer day he heads straight for the pond to cool down. Why, just the other day I was sweeping my front porch and along came mister Pockets with his doxin friend Oliver. Mr Pockets looked like he was looking for something. Sure enough, he was looking for Harold again. So mister Pockets, Oliver, Baxter, and I started walking toward the pond. Before we got there, we heard a familiar sound. There he is, laughed Mr. Pockets, and sure enough there stood Harold. He wasn't in trouble. He wasn't scared. He was standing in the pond up to his belly, and it looked like he was looking at his own reflection in the water. Oliver barked, and mister Pockets called Harold. Harold looked up with those big eyes as if to say you found me again, and I'm ready to go home. We gently walked Harold back toward Mr. Pockets orchards, and as we walked, I scratched Harold behind the ears. I'm glad we found you, old friend. You know, boys and girls, Harold reminds me of something Jesus once taught us. Jesus talked about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep. That's a lot of sheep. Can you imagine that? But there was one little sheep that wandered away. Now that one sheep was important to the shepherd, just like all the other sheep. He could have said, Oh well, I still have ninety nine. One more being gone won't make a difference. But that's not what he did. The shepherd went looking for the one that was lost. And when he found that little sheep, he didn't fuss at it. He picked it up with joy and carried it home. Well that's how much Jesus loves us. Sometimes we might forget to stay close to Jesus. Sometimes we forget to obey. Maybe we're not kind. And maybe we forget to pray. Jesus does not stop loving us. He wants us to come back to him because he loves every one of us. I'm thankful Jesus always wants us to be with him and looks for us. Jesus doesn't get tired of looking for us. Mr Pockets loves Harold the hard headed goat, so every time he wanders off, mister Pockets and Oliver go looking for him. Well, Harold is safely back in the orchard. But if I know Harold, it won't be long before he's back at the pond again. And if he does, mister Pockets will go looking for him again. Well you know, I'm glad Jesus never gets tired of bringing us home. I hear Baxter. He's telling me the mail has arrived. Let's go see. Here's a letter from Bobby in Texas. Let's read it. Dear Shepherd Sam, do Emma and Ethan have any farm animals at their home? Love Bobby. Thank you, Bobby. That's a really good question. And yes, they do have some animals. They have a pond with ducks. They have named their ducks mister Quackers and Miss Waddles. Aren't those funny names? mister Quackers and Miss Waddles also have several little yellow ducklings that they have to keep an eye on. Well next time on Shepherd Sam's Farm we'll introduce them to come back and visit so we can learn more about mister Quackers, Miss Waddles, and their ducklings. Thank you for spending a little time with Baxter, her farm friends, and me. I hope you'll remember what we learned. Until next time, take good care of yourself. Be kind to others. And remember that God loves you very much. I'm Shepherd Sam. And remember, come and see.