"Ordinary children couldn't make something like that up."
The old woman clenched her fingers.
The old man's mouth fell open.
Then he fell silent.
She was right.
He had to admit...
His wife's words... had convinced him.
How could a child so young make up such a terrifying story?
But...
"That story can't possibly be real, either."
The old man furrowed his brows.
A man-eating sheep...
What was this, some kind of horror story?
"...Mm."
The old woman had no answer.
Yes.
How could this story possibly be real?
A sheep that ate people?
It was both terrifying and absurd.
"Don't think about it too much."
The old man comforted his wife.
"Who knows where that child saw or heard a similar story..."
"You've been thinking about it too much."
"And started imagining things."
"You know what the weather was like yesterday..."
"It was windy and rainy, and the sky was gloomy..."
"The house was completely empty."
"It's easy to imagine all sorts of frightening things in a place like that."
"Completely empty..."
The old woman looked at the old man.
"Old Man Mao wasn't home?"
"Mm."
Though he didn't understand why his wife was asking, the old man quickly nodded.
"You saw it yesterday, didn't you?"
"We even went inside his house."
"We made plenty of noise, too."
"If Old Man Mao had been there, he would've come charging out, cursing us."
Why would he have let them hang around in his house?
"Could it be..."
The old woman looked thoughtful. "We haven't seen Old Man Mao in a long time, have we?"
"Have you heard of anyone seeing him in the village?"
"...No."
After thinking it over, the old man shook his head.
"The last I heard, someone had spotted