Clever goats abound in folklore around the world… For good reason!
I have personally witnessed our goats figuring out how to open latches, remove walls when locked doors necessitated it, and learn how to climb ladders.
This clever goat fable comes from Iran, where it is believed the first goats were domesticated thousands of years ago.
Clever Goats
One traditional folktale from Iran involving goats is called “The Clever Goats.”
The story goes that a group of goats lived in a village at the foot of a mountain. One day, a terrible drought struck the village and all the grass and plants dried up, leaving the goats with nothing to eat. The goats were very hungry and decided to go to the mountain to find food.
When they reached the mountain, they saw a large field of delicious grass at the top. But the field was surrounded by a high wall, and there was no way for the goats to get in. The goats tried every way they could think of to get over the wall, but nothing worked.
Finally, one clever goat had an idea. He suggested that they all stand on each other’s backs and make a ladder, with the tallest goat at the top. The other goats liked this idea and they all worked together to make the ladder.
The tallest goat at the top of the ladder was able to reach over the wall and open the gate, allowing all the goats to enter the field and eat their fill. From that day on, the goats were no longer hungry and lived happily ever after.
The moral to this story… By working together to overcome obstacles and adversity, we achieve great things and live happily ever after!
