10 Iconic Characters You Never Knew Were Based on Real People

Mary (the schoolgirl with the lamb)

Mary had a little lamb (whose fleece was white as snow, as you know) and it followed her to school one day. That actually happened! Real-life youngster Mary Sawyer tried to hide the lamb in a basket at her feet during class, but the teacher discovered the ruse when the animal bleated. That lamb was kicked out of the classroom. The famous nursery rhyme was first written by a kid who witnessed the whole event. Years later, another poet revised the rhyme and it became the famous refrain known by kids everywhere.

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