Mr. Butterwick, of Roxborough, had a fit of sleeplessness one night lately, and after vainly trying to lose himself in slumber, he happened to remember that he once read in an almanac that a man could put himself to sleep by imagining that he saw a flock of sheep jumping over a fence, and by counting them as they jumped.
He determined to try the experiment, and closing his eyes, he fancied the sheep jumping, and began to count. He had reached his hundred and fortieth sheep, and was beginning to doze off, when Mrs. Butterwick suddenly said:
“Joseph!”
“Oh, what?”
“I believe that yellow hen wants to set and raise a brood.”
“Oh, don’t bother me with such nonsense as that now. Do keep quiet and go to sleep.”
Then Butterwick started his sheep again, and commenced to count again. He got up to one hundred and twenty, and was feeling as if he would drop off at any moment, and just as his hundred and twenty-first sheep was about to take that fence, one of the twins began to cry.
“Hang that child!” he shouted at Mrs. Butterwick. “Why can’t you tend to it and put it to sleep? Hush up, you little imp, or I’ll spank you!”
When Mrs. Butterwick had quieted the child, Butterwick, although a little nervous and excited, concluded to try it again. Turning on the imaginary mutton, he began.
Only sixty-four sheep had slid over the fence when Butterwick’s mother-in-law knocked at the door and asked if he was awake. When she learned that he was she said she believed he had forgotten to close the back shutters, and she thought she heard burglars in the yard.
Butterwick arose in wrath and went down to see about it. He ascertained that the shutters were closed as usual, and as he returned to bed he resolved that Mrs. Butterwick’s mother would leave the house for good in the morning, or he would.
However, he thought he might as well give the almanac plan another trial, and setting the sheep in motion he began to count. This time he reached two hundred and forty, and would probably have got to sleep before the three hundredth sheep jumped, had not Mix’s new dog in the next yard become suddenly homesick, and began to express his feelings in a series of prolonged and exasperating howls.
Butterwick was indignant. Neglecting the sheep, he leaped from bed, and began to bombard Mix’s new dog with boots, soap-cups, and every loose object he could lay his hands on. He impressed the animal at last with a plaster bust of Daniel Webster, and induced the dog to retreat to the stable and think all about home in silence.
It seemed almost ridiculous to resume those sheep again, but he determined to give the almanac man one more chance, and so as they began to jump the fence he began to count, and after seeing the eighty-second safely over, he was gliding gently into the land of dreams, when Mrs. Butterwick rolled out of bed and fell on the floor with such violence that she waked the twins and started them crying, while Butterwick’s mother-in-law came down-stairs, four steps at a time, to ask if they felt that earthquake.
The situation was too awful for words. Butterwick regarded it for a minute with speechless indignation, and then seizing a pillow he went over to the sofa in the back sitting–room and lay down on the lounge.
He fell asleep in ten minutes without the assistance of the almanac, but he dreamed all night that he was being butted around the equator by a Cotswold ram, and he awoke in the morning with a sore back and a terrible headache and a conviction that sheep are good enough for wool and chops, but not worth a cent as a narcotic.
先生Butterwick Roxborough，最近有一个适合失眠一晚，徒劳地试图失去自己在沉睡后，他偶然记得，有一次他在年历读，一个人能想象，他看到自己睡羊群的羊跳过栅栏，计数，他们跳下。
他决心要尝试的实验，他闭上双眼，幻想的羊跳，并开始计数。他已经达到他的一百四十只羊，开始打瞌睡，当夫人Butterwick突然说：
“约瑟夫！”
“哦，什么？”
“我相信，黄母鸡要设置和养育雏。”
“哦，不要理会这种废话，我现在。要保持安静，睡觉去。“
然后Butterwick开始他的羊了，并开始重新计数。他起身到一百二十，感觉，如果他将放弃在任何时刻，就像他的一百二十一羊，采取围栏，这对双胞胎之一哭了起来。
“杭的孩子！”他大声喊道在夫人Butterwick。 “你为什么不倾向于把它睡觉呢？嘘，你小妖精，不然我就揍你！“
当夫人。Butterwick了平静孩子，Butterwick，虽然有点紧张又兴奋，最后再次尝试。虚羊肉时，他就开始了。
只有六十四个羊已跌去了栅栏Butterwick的婆婆敲门，并问他是否是清醒的。当她得知他时，她说她相信，他已经忘记了关闭背部百叶窗，她以为她在院子里听到了窃贼。
butterwick产生的愤怒，接着往下看一下。他确定被关闭百叶窗和往常一样，他回来睡觉，他决心夫人。Butterwick的母亲会在早晨离开好房子，否则他会。
不过，他认为他还不如给年历计划另一项试验，并设置在运动中的羊，他开始计数。这一次，他达到两个一百和第四十，并就可能已经得到了睡觉前的三个百岁羊跳，不混合的未来后院新的狗突然想家，并开始在一系列长期和可气的吼声他的感情。
butterwick是愤慨。忽略了羊，他从床上跳了起来，并开始轰击Mix的新狗靴，肥皂，杯子，和每一个松散的对象，他可以躺在他的手。他最后留下深刻印象的动物与丹尼尔•韦伯斯特的石膏半身像，诱导犬撤退到稳定的，并认为所有关于家在沉默。
这似乎再次恢复那些羊几乎可笑，但他决心给年历人多一次机会，使他们开始跳栅栏，他开始算，看到80秒的安全结束后，他被轻轻地滑翔进入梦想的土地，夫人Butterwick时推出了床，并与这种暴力行为，她醒来的双胞胎和他们哭倒在地上，而Butterwick的婆婆下楼的楼梯一次，四个步骤，问他们是否认为地震。
情况太可怕的话。 butterwick认为一分钟无言的愤慨，并抓住一个枕头，他走过去，在回客厅的沙发，躺在休息室。
他在没有援助的年历10分钟就睡着了，但他梦见他被周围的赤道由科茨沃尔德RAM的对接晚上，他在第二天早上醒来，背部疼痛和头疼得厉害，一个信念，羊足够好的羊毛和排骨，但不值得作为一种麻醉剂的百分之。
