Author Unknown

There was a young farmer that lived in a valley. All his life he had heard about a wise, old Indian that lived on the top of the hill that overlooked the valley. It was said that this Indian could forecast the harshness of upcoming winter seasons. When the young farmer started his own farming business, he found it tempting to go up the hill and ask the old Indian if he could tell him what the upcoming winter was going to be like. Unsure if he should, he made a visit to a friend’s farm that sat on the side of the hill just below where the old Indian lived. The young farmer asked his friend if he should go talk to the old Indian and his friend told him to go do it and then let him know what the old Indian had to say. So up the hill the young farmer went. He was greeted by the old Indian and the young farmer immediately asked the old Indian if he could see any signs that would tell him what the impending winter was going to be like. The old Indian cast his gaze out over the side of the hill into the valley and said it looked like a cold winter, but that it was still too early to be absolutely sure. The old Indian told the young farmer to come back in a month and he could give him a better prediction. So on the way down the hill, the young farmer stopped and told his friend that the old Indian had said it was to be a cold winter. The young farmer’s friend took heed in what the old Indian had forecasted and increased the amount of hay he usually collected for his animals...just to make sure he had enough. A month later the young farmer went back up the hill and again asked the old Indian what he could see. Again the old Indian cast his gaze out over the side of the hill into the valley and said, "ooohhh, the signs now say that the winter is going to be more severe than first thought." Nervously the young farmer made his way down the hill to his friend’s house and shared the old Indian’s forecast. The young farmer’s friend again searched out and bailed more hay for his animals so they would make it through the winter. About a month later the young farmer decided to check with the old Indian one more time just to make sure he was prepared, so up the hill he went. When asked the question the old Indian looked out over the hill and into the valley and said with much confidence that the winter was going to be extremely, extremely severe. Now totally confused and worried, the young farmer asked the old Indian just what it was that he was looking at and seeing to make such a changing prediction. The old Indian pointed to the young farmer’s friend’s house on the side of the hill and said, "White man make much hay."