I’ve always loved this story. I told a version of it for years. I first head it on a tape I borrowed from the Mt. Vernon Library in Ohio when the children were small. I never paid attention to who told it our gave proper attribution.
One evening many years later at a Storytelling Festival in Flint, Michigan I was listening to Storyteller Jim May and realized he was the man who told this wonderful story.
I talked with Jim and he forgave me for telling his story over and over again without proper attribution. He was kind and forgiving. I purchased a copy of his book; The Farm at Nippersink Creek. He inscribed it for me, “Keep ringing the bell.”
I thought you would enjoy the story. For best results listen slow and easy clear to the end.