In a small English village long ago, there lived a hardworking farmer, his wife, and their only daughter. They were good people, honest, kind, and simple in their ways, though not the sharpest in wit. Their home stood by a green meadow, where the wind sang through the hedges and the cows grazed quietly.
One evening, a fine young gentleman riding through the countryside stopped at their door. He had been traveling for many days and asked if he might rest and have a meal. The farmer and his wife welcomed him gladly. Their daughter, a modest and cheerful girl, brought him bread, cheese, and ale. As he spoke with her, the young man found her gentle nature and rosy smile most charming.
Before long, he asked for her hand in marriage. The farmer and his wife were overjoyed, but the young man had one concern. He wanted to be sure his bride-to-be was not foolish, for a wise wife was said to be the key to a happy home.
The next day, he returned to the farmhouse to visit. As he entered the kitchen, he found the young woman sitting on a stool, weeping bitterly.
“What’s the matter, my dear?” he asked.
“Oh,” she sobbed, “I was looking up at the ceiling and saw a hammer hanging there. When we’re married and have a child, suppose the hammer falls and kills it!”
The gentleman blinked in astonishment. He looked up at the old hammer, hanging harmlessly from a peg. Then, realizing the seriousness in her tone, he nearly burst out laughing.
Still, he was too polite to show it. “Well,” he said kindly, “that would indeed be terrible. But let’s hope it never happens.”
When he told the farmer and his wife about the incident, they too began to cry, thinking of the poor imaginary child. The young man thought to himself, If they are all like this, I must find three sillier people before I can marry this girl.
So, he told them, “I shall travel for three days. If I can find three sillier people than you, I’ll come back and marry your daughter.”
And off he went.
The first day, as he passed through a nearby village, he saw a woman trying to push a cow up a ladder onto the roof of a cottage. “Good heavens!” he said. “What are you doing?”
“I want the cow to eat the grass on the roof,” the woman replied.
“But wouldn’t it be easier to bring the grass down to the cow?”
“Oh no,” said she, “that would be too much trouble.”
To keep the poor creature from falling, she tied a rope around its neck and passed it down the chimney, where her son held the end inside the cottage.
Just as the young man turned the corner, he heard a loud crash. The cow had slipped, and the rope, well, you can imagine the rest. The woman stood there in tears, moaning over her own foolishness.
“That’s one sillier than my fiancée,” said the young man to himself, and continued on his way.
The next morning, he came upon a man standing half-dressed outside his house, struggling with his trousers.
“Good day,” said the young man. “Do you need help?”
“Oh, it’s this dreadful business of getting into these trousers!” the man replied. “I’ve been at it for half an hour. Sometimes I think they must have shrunk in the wash!”
The traveler stared as the man tried to jump, twist, and hop his way into his own clothes, yet he hadn’t realized he was standing on the inside of them.
“Indeed,” said the young man with a grin, “you are the second silliest person I’ve ever met.”
That evening, as twilight deepened, he came upon a pond near another village. A crowd of people stood around it, holding rakes and buckets, muttering anxiously.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
They pointed to the water. “The moon’s fallen in!” cried one man. “We’re trying to fish it out!”
They raked and scooped with all their might, splashing water everywhere.
The young man could hardly breathe for laughter. “You’re raking the moon’s reflection, good people!”
But they ignored him, working harder than ever. “Aye, aye, easy for you to say,” said the leader, “but we saw it fall in with our own eyes!”
The young man shook his head. “That’s the third and silliest lot yet,” he said.
Satisfied, he returned to the farmer’s home. The daughter met him at the gate, blushing shyly.
“Well,” said he, smiling, “I’ve met three sillier people than you and your family. I’ll take you as my wife, for there’s more sense in you after all.”
The wedding was held in the little village church. Laughter filled the air, and the tale of The Three Sillies was told for generations, a gentle reminder that wisdom is not perfection but awareness of one’s own folly.
Moral Lesson
This story teaches lessons on humility, wisdom, and self-awareness, that everyone can be foolish at times, but true sense lies in recognizing our own silliness and learning from it.
Knowledge Check
- What was the young man’s condition before marrying the farmer’s daughter?
He had to find three people sillier than her family. - What was the daughter worried about when crying in the kitchen?
She feared a hammer might fall and kill a future child. - Who was the first silly person he met?
A woman pushing a cow up a ladder to eat roof grass. - What were the villagers doing by the pond?
Trying to rake the moon’s reflection out of the water. - What moral does the tale teach?
Wisdom comes from humility and recognizing foolishness. - Where does this folktale originate?
From rural England, part of traditional English fairy tales.
Source: Adapted from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1890).
Cultural Origin: England (European folklore).
