Re: farmer and the noisy hut

[Tamah Graber <tgraber@UMD5.UMD.EDU>]

On Sun, 30 Oct 1994, Sylvia Adair wrote:

> Dear netters:  I've got a request from a teacher that has me stumped. She
> needs a book for elementary school students called (she says) The Farmer and
> the Noisy Hut.  She doesn't have an author, or any other information.  I
> vaguely recall a folktale like this, where it is too quiet in the hut and the
>
This is a story that has many versions.  I first encountered it as a
Jewish folktale, probably in THE WISE MEN OF CHELM, but maybe not, where
the farmer goes to the rabbi to ask advice  because his tiny house is so
crowded.  The rabbi tells him to bring in the goats.  The farmer goes
back to say that now it is REALLY crowded, and is told to bring in more
animals.  He keeps coming back and is told to bring in more animals.
Finally the rabbi tells him to put out all the animals, and the farmer
sees how quiet  the house has become and how much room there is for the
people.   Sorry I can't help with a specific title or author.  It is
probably a folk tale that appears in many different versions and from
many different countries.
Tamah Graber
Darnestown E.S.
Darnestown   MD     tgraber@umd5.umd.edu