For whom the tolls bleat

Or possibly a moveable feast after the sheep are slaughtered in the afternoon;

Shepherds guided a flock of 2,000 sheep through Madrid's streets on Sunday in defense of ancient grazing, droving and migration rights increasingly threatened by urban sprawl and modern agricultural practices.

Tough choice; heated and air-conditioned homes, office buildings and department stores, food, or shepherds' flocks moseying through the city.

Tourists and city-dwellers were surprised to see the capital's traffic cut to permit the bleating, bell-clanking parade to pass the city's most emblematic locations.

Surprised probably doesn't exhaust the emotional possibilities.

Shepherds halted at the old town hall so the chief herdsman could hand authorities 25 maravedies — copper coins first minted in the 11th century — as payment for the crossing.

As in the good old days when they had the Inquisition and bubonic plague.