A famous and very accomplished ventriloquist once visited a very old friend of his on the man’s farm. They had not seen each other in many years, and the farmer did not know of his friend’s skill in ventriloquism. So the visitor decided to play some games with his old friend. He announced that he’d like to see the farm and hear from the animals.
When they went out to the barn, he projected his voice to have the cow “say” to both of them, “Maybe you can talk to this farmer and get him to stop pinching my udders and taking all of my milk, which is meant for my calf. And if he’s going to do it anyway, he should do it earlier in the morning! My udder hurts when it’s full of milk, and I have to keep standing here for hours.” The farmer seemed surprised, but he didn’t say a word. They continued the tour.
Soon they arrived at the horse’s stall. The horse “spoke” to the visitor, “Man, I’m glad to see you. This guy seems to think he can saddle me up any time he wants and just ride all over the farm, to hell and gone. And if you can believe the nerve of the guy, he even hitches me to plows and wagons and has me pull loads around, too! It’s not fair! No one else has to work like I do.” The farmer seemed thoughtful, but again said not a word.
As they approached the pig pen, they heard a boar “speak”, who said, “Hey there. It’s awful that we’re not allowed to run around and exercise like other animals. It’s no good to be raised in a confined area like this and made to become fat. This is no way to live.” The farmer stroked his beard and continued to think deeply.
Finally, as they left the pig pen, but before they got to the field with the sheep in it, the farmer spoke. “Listen,” he said, “We’re going to see the sheep, but you have to know before we do that they are infamous and scandalous liars.”