"Whaes hortin ' im， ye fule； he is mair like to hort me." But further explanation was not necessary. Wully' s manner had wholly changed. He fawned on the drover， and his tail was wagging violently for the first time in years.
A few words made it all clear. Dorley， the drover， had known Robin very well， and the mittens and comforter he wore were of Robin' s own make and had once been part of his wardrobe. Wully recognized the traces of his master， and despairing of any nearer approach to his lost idol， he abandoned his post at the ferry and plainly announced his intention of sticking to the owner of the mittens， and Dorley was well pleased to take Wully along to his home among the hills of Derbyshire， where he became once more a sheep-dog in charge of a flock.
小巫利出生於遙遠的切維厄特。一窩小狗除了他和另外一隻留了下來，其餘的都送人了。他們之所以能留下來，是因為那位兄弟長得酷似附近一隻非常優秀的狗，而巫利則是一隻黃毛靚狗。
巫利從小就過著牧羊犬的生活，跟著一隻有豐富經驗的牧羊犬學本領，任何一位老牧羊人或許都遠不及他倆聰明。兩歲的巫利已經完全長大，並接受了看管羊群的係統訓練。從羊角到羊蹄，他都了如指掌。他的主人老羅賓對巫利的聰明才智極為信賴，所以他自己就整夜在酒館裏泡著，而讓巫利對山坡上那群毛茸茸的傻瓜全權負責。他受過良好的教育，無論從哪方麵來看，都稱得上是隻聰明的小狗，有著遠大的前程。可是，他無論如何也學不會鄙視那個老糊塗羅賓。這老羊倌雖然一無是處，卻仍堅持不懈地追求他的理想境界——沉醉於酒的世界中，枯燥乏味地生活著，卻很少虐待巫利，而巫利則回報他以極端的崇拜，那虔誠勁兒就連世界上最偉大、最精明的人也很難辦到。
巫利無法想象還有誰會比羅賓更偉大。其實，羅賓全部的體力和腦力都以每周5先令的價格抵押給一個販賣牛羊的商人了，這個商人才是巫利所看管的羊群的真正主人，而他又遠不及附近的鄉紳那樣財大氣粗。一天，這個商人命令羅賓分段分站地將羊群趕往約克郡的荒野，然後再趕到市場去。這所有的376個腦袋瓜中，巫利最有趣，也是對整個行動最感興趣的。