A young farmhand spends hours in the fields, his only company a few sheep. He seems restless, even lonely—asking passersby for the time even though they often tell him before he can speak. When no one’s around, he mumbles stories to himself, curling up where the hedge gives the best shelter. The distant sound of hunters draws him into a moment of pure escape: he scrambles up the tallest tree, stripping away leaves until he can perch in an old crow’s nest like a makeshift seat. But then his sheep wander through a broken fence, and reality pulls him back down. Hurrying, dreading his master’s anger, he blocks the gap and watches them steadily until evening. The poem holds a quiet, tender mood—half sympathy for the boy’s boredom and daydreaming, half admiration for his small moments of freedom.
Farmer's Boy — Summary
He waits all day beside his little flock And asks the passing stranger what's o'clock, But those who often pass his daily tasks Look at their watch and tell before he asks. He mutters stories to himself and lies Where the thick hedge the warmest house supplies, And when he hears the hunters far and wide He climbs the highest tree to see them ride-- He climbs till all the fields are blea and bare And makes the old crow's nest an easy chair. And soon his sheep are got in other grounds-- He hastens down and fears his master come, He stops the gap and keeps them all in bounds And tends them closely till it's time for home.