[00:01.040]--- lesson 16 Mary had a little lamb
[00:06.880]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:12.640]--- Was Dimitri right to apologize to his neighbour? why not?
[00:20.200]Mary and her husband Dimitri lived in the tiny village of Perachora in southern Greece.
[00:28.360]One of Mary's prize possessions was a little white lamb which her husband had given her.
[00:35.280]She kept it tied to a tree in a field during the day and went to fetch it every evening.
[00:42.440]One evening, however, the lamb was missing.
[00:45.920]The rope had been cut, so it was obvious that the lamb had been stolen.
[00:52.680]When Dimitri came in from the fields, his wife told him what had happened.
[00:57.880]Dimitri at once set out to find the thief.
[01:01.560]He knew it would not prove difficult in such a small village.
[01:06.240]After telling several of his friends about the theft, Dimitri found out that his neighbour, Aleko, had suddenly acquired a new lamb.
[01:16.480]Dimitri immediately went to Aleko's house and angrily accused him of stealing the lamb.
[01:22.920]He told him he had better return it or he would call the police.
[01:27.880]Aleko denied taking it and led Dimitri into his backyard.
[01:33.920]It was true that he had just bought a lamb, he explained, but his lamb was black.
[01:40.880]Ashamed of having acted so rashly, Dimitri apologized to Aleko for having accused him.
[01:48.160]While they were talking it began to rain and Dimitri stayed in Aleko's house until the rain stopped.
[01:56.160]When he went outside half an hour later, he was astonished to find that the little black lamb was almost white.
[02:05.000]Its wool, which had been dyed black, had been washed clean by the rain!