Long ago, in a rich and prosperous village, everyone owned a real calf, except for one very poor man. He wanted one more than anything, so he decided to make a calf of his own. With his own hands and a good piece of wood, he carved a perfect calf, from its tiny tail to its head. He even carved a small hole for a tail, so he could put a real one in later.
When he was done, the poor man was so proud of his creation that he brought it to the village meadow. He knew it couldn’t walk, so he moved it a little each day to a new spot, as if it were eating and growing.
One evening, the wealthy man who owned the meadow came to collect his own calves. He saw the poor man’s wooden calf and looked at it in confusion.
“That’s a fine calf you have there,” the rich man said, but it was clear he was confused. “But it hasn’t moved an inch all day! It’s just sitting there, not even grazing.”
The poor man smiled sadly and said, “Sir, my calf is so plump from browsing and nibbling that it has become too heavy to move! It has to eat a little each day to grow really big.”
The rich man didn’t quite believe him, but he left the wooden calf where it stood.
The next morning, the poor man went back to the meadow, and he couldn’t believe his eyes! There, right beside his wooden calf, stood a beautiful, healthy, live cow!
The poor man was overjoyed. He took the cow to the village judge to figure out who it belonged to.
The judge called the rich man to court. The judge said to the rich man, “This man’s calf was left with you. It’s your fault it didn’t come home. You will have to carry it to his pasture.”
“But it’s a calf!” the rich man protested. “It can walk!”
The judge then said, “If it has not yet learned to walk, you’ll have to carry it!”
“My wooden calf has not yet learned to walk,” the rich man said. “It is too young.”
“Then you should have carried it to the pasture!” the judge said. “It is your own fault that you didn’t.”
So the judge made a very fair ruling. He told the rich man to give the cow to the poor man as fair compensation.
The rich man had to give up his beautiful cow. And from that day on, the little wooden calf actually became a real cow.