In a cheerful little village, nestled beside a sparkling river, lived a farmer named Tom. Now, Tom was a clever fellow, but he and his wife, Lily, didn't have a cow. "Oh, Tom," Lily would often say, "if only we had a cow for some fresh milk and butter!"

One day, Tom had an idea. He asked the village carpenter, a friendly man named Bob, to make him a calf out of wood. Bob carved a wonderful wooden calf, so lifelike it almost seemed ready to moo!

Tom took his wooden calf to the common pasture where the village herder watched all the cows. The herder looked puzzled. "This calf doesn't eat any grass, Tom," he said after a while.
Tom pretended to be very cross. "What? A lazy calf! And a lazy herder too, perhaps!" The herder got so scared of Tom's pretend anger that he ran away and didn't come back. So, Tom took the wooden calf's "skin" (which was just the wood, of course) and decided to go to the town to sell it.

On his way, as evening fell, he saw a light in a miller's house. He peeked through the window and saw the miller's wife having a grand supper with a special guest. There was roast chicken, warm bread, and a big cake! Just then, they heard the miller coming home. Quick as a flash, the wife hid the chicken under the table, the bread in the oven, the cake under a cushion, and the guest in a big cupboard.

Tom knocked on the door. "Could a weary traveler rest here for the night?" he asked.
The miller, a grumpy sort, grumbled, "Alright, but don't expect much."
"Oh, I have my fortune-teller with me," Tom said, patting the wooden hide. "It can tell all sorts of secrets."
The miller scoffed. "Nonsense!"
"Well," said Tom, "my hide tells me there's some delicious roast chicken hidden under the table."
The miller's wife looked nervous. And sure enough, there was the chicken!
"And," Tom continued, "it says there's warm bread in the oven, and a sweet cake under a cushion!"
The miller was amazed as each thing was found.
"Finally," Tom announced, "my clever hide says there's someone rather important hiding in that big cupboard!"
The miller flung open the cupboard, and out tumbled the very flustered guest! The miller was so impressed (and a bit embarrassed) that he gave Tom a big bag of gold coins to keep quiet and for his amazing fortune-telling hide.

Tom returned to his village, jingling his coins. The other villagers were very curious. "Tom, how did you get so rich?" they asked.
Tom winked. "Oh, I sold my calfskin in the town. They pay a very high price for calfskins there!"

The greedy villagers, hearing this, all decided to do the same. They took their best cows, got their skins, and rushed to town. But of course, they only got a few pennies for them. They were very, very angry with Tom. "He tricked us!" they shouted.

They decided to punish Tom by putting him in a big barrel and rolling him into the river. So, they caught Tom, put him in a barrel, and left him by the riverside while they went to fetch a strong rope.

While Tom was in the barrel, a shepherd came by with a big flock of fluffy sheep. Tom started shouting from inside the barrel, "I won't do it! I won't be the mayor! I don't want to be the mayor!"
The shepherd, hearing this, peeked into the barrel. "What's this about being mayor?" he asked.
"Oh," said Tom, "the villagers want to make me the mayor, but I'm too humble. I just want to be a simple farmer."
"Mayor!" exclaimed the shepherd. "I'd love to be mayor! I'm tired of sheep."
"Well," said Tom, "if you really want to, you can take my place. Just let me out, and you get in. When they come back, just stay quiet, and they'll make you mayor."

So, the shepherd happily climbed into the barrel, and Tom took all his sheep. Soon, the villagers returned. Without looking inside, they sealed the barrel and rolled it with a big SPLASH into the river. "That's the end of tricky Tom!" they said.

A little while later, who should they see walking into the village but Tom, driving a large flock of sheep!
The villagers' jaws dropped. "Tom! You're alive! And where did you get all those sheep?"
Tom smiled. "Oh, from the bottom of the river, of course! When you roll someone in a barrel into the river, they find lots and lots of sheep down there. I just picked the best ones."

The villagers, still greedy and not very bright, looked at each other. "Sheep at the bottom of the river!"
"Let's go get some!"
And so, one after another, they all jumped into the river, hoping to find flocks of sheep. Splash! Splash! Splash!
But of course, there were no sheep, only a lot of water.

And so, clever Tom, the little farmer, lived happily in the village with Lily and all his new sheep. And perhaps, with all his good fortune, he even bought Lily a real, mooing cow.

1855 Views