The True Story of Mary-Lou and her Rise to Literary Stardom

[b]When new-born Mary-Lou arrived at the 'plunket room' at Mount Algidus Station in the early 70s, Mona Anderson was already established as one of our most successful writers. She and husband Ron farmed Merino sheep and one of the 'fleecies' (shearer) found Mary-Lou abandoned in the paddock. [/b][b]Mary-Lou was one of the lucky ones who was adopted by Mona as a pet. [/b]

[left][b]The lamb turns into a literary star[/b][/left] [left]She grew into the oddest and most loveable of creatures, who came to regard herself as the real boss of the station. Mona found Mary-Lou's character so intriguing it inspired her to write a children's book. [i]Mary-Lou: The story of a high-country lamb [/i]tells the real life story of the pet's antics on the station - and features many photographs of Mona and her charge. [/left] [left][b]Mary-Lou makes new friends[/b] Mary-Lou was a strong lamb despite her small size and got used to drinking out of a bottle very quickly! Mona fed Mary-Lou with a bottle of milk four times a day, and would sometimes give the lamb a dog biscuit or two. Timothy, the farm’s spoilt tabby cat took a liking to Mary-Lou, and the two of them would get into a lot of mischief together. They became very good at chasing each other around the couch, under the dining room table, and down the kitchen. When ready for an afternoon nap, Timothy would knead his paws in Mary-Lou’s soft wool and they would fall asleep curled up next to each other. [/left]

[b]Cheeky and greedy[/b] Mary-Lou then became friends with Old Sam, the farm’s heading dog. Old Sam and Mary-Lou enjoyed walking around Mount Algidus Station together. One day, Mona saw both the animals duck through a hole in the fence and not return for a few hours. Worried, Mona decided to see where they had gone, only to find Old Sam sniffing at a hedgehog in the corner of the stables and Mary-Lou with a mouthful of rich clover. Once she got older, Mary-Lou became even greedier! She would gobble up milk, dog biscuits, scones, chicken food, and the fallen fruit in the orchard. Mona and Ron began to worry that she was getting too big as could no longer fit in the dogs’ kennels. After being shorn, she was much skinnier and looked like a different sheep, but was still just as cheeky. [b]Mona moves on, Mary-Lou stays put[/b] In 1974, Mona and Ron left Mount Algidus Station and moved to Darfield. Unfortunately they couldn’t take Mary-Lou with them, so they had to say goodbye to their sneaky, greedy sheep. The new owners later reported that Mary-Lou made a new doggy friend called Honk, and still remained the boss of the station.