Keloğlan and the Angora Goat

Once upon a time… In the windy steppes of Anatolia lived a clever, curious, and kind-hearted boy named Keloğlan. One day he looked around and noticed that people weren’t smiling as they used to, the fields weren’t as green as they used to be, and even the birds were singing less. A famine had begun… But it was not only a lack of food; hope, joy, and love were also fading away. Keloğlan said to himself, “I must find a remedy for this unhappiness,” and he set out across the Anatolian steppes with his bundle on his back. On the way, he met a young 16th-century Angora goat with snow-white, wavy fur. The goat said sadly: “The milk of Anatolia has spoiled, Keloğlan… The fermentationno longer works. People no longer love each another, and nature was offended.” Keloğlan felt sad. But the goat smiled and said: “My milk is still pure. If you wish, I can give you some.” Keloğlan opened his bundle and took out a few olive saplings that looked dried up. “Then come,” he said, “let us plant them in the soil with your milk.” They planted the saplings together… And suddenly they saw them begin to turn green and sprout before their eyes. The earth seems to have awakened!