cowherd

Its name honored one of the first Old English poets, a 7th-century cowherd who was said to have waked up from a dream with the gift of verse and song.

Almost a decade later, when two cowherds come asking for wisdom, she blesses a bag of vegetable seeds and tells the brothers to sow them at the spot where her mother died.

The cowherd, who sat with them, had a pipe between his teeth.

Surprisingly, the mutton-filled “cowherd’s pie” never quite caught on, almost giving the impression that society had room in its heart for only one crust-covered baked meat dish pretending to be pie.

Japan’s annual Star Festival commemorates the legend of two lovers, the weaver Orihime and the cowherd Hikoboshi, who represent two stars in the summer sky, Vega and Altair.