Once upon a time a sheep and a goat set out on a journey together.
'Me-e-e', said the sheep. 'Two heads are better than one'.
But the goat looked at the sheep and said, 'I'm not so sure about that'.
However they went on walking side by side and at last the sheep said, 'Let's talk'.
'What about?' said the goat.
'Me-e-e', said the sheep. 'Let me think. Er... Let's talk about things beginning with W'.
So they went on talking about such things as work, and wool, and water, and wives, and wolves! And at last they came to a wood.
'Do you think we should go through this wood?' said the sheep.
'If we keep together', said the goat, 'we can go where we like but we must keep our eyes open'.
'Four eyes are better than two', said the sheep.
'Perhaps you are right', said the goat. 'Even though two of them are only sheep's eyes'.
So they went into the wood and between the two of them they saw a wolf before the wolf saw them.
'Me-e-e, now what should we do?' said the sheep.
'We must be ready to use our legs', said the goat.
'Eight legs are better than four', said the sheep.
The goat looked very doubtful indeed.
'Perhaps, perhaps', he said at last. 'Even though four of them are only sheep's legs'.
The goat looked about him quickly. He saw two bushes close together.
'Ah, they are very thick', he said. 'Now, Sheep, you'll stand between these two bushes facing that way and I'll stand behind you facing this other way. When Mr. Wolf comes along, you talk to him and don't forget to tell him that you have two heads, four eyes and eight legs. You'll do the talking in front, you see, and I'll do the back-chat from behind. Now, here he comes. Are you ready?'
'Me-e-e', said the sheep.
'Good-day, Sheep!' said the wolf. 'I am delighted to meet you!'
'You are very polite for a wolf', said the sheep.
'I am always polite to my dinner. I always think it goes down better if you've been polite to it. I was just wondering when I should find my dinner and your four legs have brought it to me.'
Well, the sheep didn't like all that talk about the wolf's dinner and said, 'You are wrong. I have eight legs.'
At that the goat began to shout, 'Of course, I have eight legs and only four of them are sheep's legs!'
'Who's that?' asked the wolf.
'That is my other head', said the sheep.
'Have you two heads then?' cried the wolf.
'Let me get to that wolf!' shouted the goat.
'There', said the sheep, 'my two heads are quite different. This head I'm talking with is very quiet and eats grass but my other head is loud and fierce and eats nothing but wolves.'
The wolf began to feel frightened.
'Er ... does your head, your other head, really eat wolves?' he asked.
'Yes, but not more than one a day.'
'And it's not enough!' shouted the goat. 'I'm always hungry. I could eat a hundred wolves. Let me get that one!'
The sheep turned her head.
'You can have this one standing in front here but that is all you can have today', she said.
'No! No, no!' shouted the wolf, down with his tail and he ran for his life.
The sheep ran after him and the goat ran backwards after the sheep shouting, 'Wolf for dinner! Wolf for dinner!'
But the wolf never looked back helter-skelter he went to his den. Into it he rushed and stopped there in the dark for days and days.
And then the sheep and the goat went quietly on their way talking about things that began with W - things like winter, and winds, and witches.
'I said two heads were better than one', said the sheep and the goat looked at her doubtfully and thought his own thoughts.