Mary and her husband lived in a tiny village of Perachora in southern of 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 was cut, so it was obvious that the lamb was 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 neighbor, Aleko, has suddenly
acquired a new lamb. Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing
the lamb. He told him had better return the lamb or he would call the police. Aleko denied taking
it and led him to backyard. It was true that he had bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was
black. Ashamed of having acted so roughly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him.
While they were talking it begin 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 that the little black lamb was
almost white, Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed clean by rhe rain!