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!&