Mary had a Little Lamb

Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora
in southern Greece. One of Mary’s prize possessions was a little white
lamb which her husband had given her. She kept it tied to a tree in a
field during the day and went to fetch it every evening. One evening,
however, the lamb was missing. The rope had been cut, so it was
obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had
happened. Dimitri at once set out to find the thief. He knew it would
not prove difficult in such a small village. After telling several of his
friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko,
had suddenly acquired a new lamb. Dimitri immediately went to
Aleko’s house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb. He told
him he had better return it or he would call the police. Aleko denied
taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard. It was true that he had
just bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was black. Ashamed
of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having
accused him. While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri
stayed in Aleko’s house until the rain stopped. When he went outside
half an hour later, he was astonished to find the little black lamb was
almost white. Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed
clean by the rain!