The only cow in a small town in Northern Italy stopped giving milk. After some research, the town folk found they could buy a cow in Sicily relatively cheaply.

So, they brought the cow over from Sicily. It was wonderful. It produced lots of milk every day, and everyone was happy.

They decided to buy a bull to mate with the cow to get more cows, so they’d never have to worry about their milk supply again. They put the bull in the pasture with the cow, but the cow would move away whenever the bull tried to mount it. No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull, and he could never do the deed.

The people were troubled and decided to go to the local veterinarian, Dr Santucchi, who was very wise, to tell him what was happening and to ask his advice. They explained, “Whenever the bull tries to mount our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. If he attempts it from the one side, she walks away to the other side”.

The veterinarian rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pondered this before asking, “Did you, by chance, buy this cow in Sicily?”

The people were dumbfounded since no one had ever mentioned that they had brought the cow over Sicily.

“You are truly a wise veterinarian,” they said. “How did you know that we got the cow from Sicily?”

The Vet replied with a distant look in his eyes: “My wife is from Sicily.”