Long ago, in a land beyond many mountains and rivers, there was a farm full of animals. Every day they lived their carefree lives—until one day everything changed. On that summer day, the sun seemed to smile brighter than ever. The animals hid from the fierce rays in the shade, hoping to wait until the sun sank behind the nearby hill. They couldn’t wait for night, when they might finally get a break from the heat.
Hours passed, but instead of darkness, the sun was still high in the sky. The air was unbearably hot. Even in the shade, the animals suffered. The air everywhere was so scorching that it was hard to breathe. They needed to cool down, so they agreed to go to a nearby lake and refresh themselves in the cold water. But to their surprise, the lake was completely dried up—and even the stream that fed it was nothing but bare stones.
Disappointed, the animals returned to the farm and tried to think of a way to cool off. “Friends, what now? It’s dry everywhere, and it’s hot as an oven!” quacked Kvetka the Duck. “What if we start digging and tunnel down to underground water?” suggested Branček the Ram. “Underground water might be several meters deep. We’d collapse from exhaustion before we reached it,” Kvetka replied. “What if we go into the farmer’s house? Maybe he has some water,” offered Karolínka the Cow.
All the animals agreed with her idea. The farmer wasn’t home, so the animals crowded inside.
“Where can we find water here? Where does the farmer keep it?” rattled Kvetka the Duck. The animals looked around, but they didn’t see any water. So they started searching. They looked on the floor and under the table, and they opened every cupboard. Nowhere. Then a piglet wandered into the kitchen and spotted a big white cabinet. When it opened the door, a pleasant, cool breeze washed over its face. The piglet didn’t know it, but the cabinet was a refrigerator. Delighted, it called to its friends. Everyone wanted to cool off, but there wasn’t enough room, so they took turns standing by the open fridge. At last, the animals felt better. But their joy didn’t last long—after a few hours, the refrigerator, left open the whole time, broke and stopped cooling. The air around them became unbearably hot again.
“What now? How are we going to cool off?” asked Karol the Bull, sweat streaming down his sides. “Let’s keep looking. There has to be water somewhere,” urged Karolínka the Cow.
The animals started searching again. “Everyone, come up here!” Branček shouted at the top of his lungs.
They hurried to the bathroom, where they found the little ram standing in the bathtub while pleasantly cold water poured in. At last, they had found water, and the animals began cooling off in the tub. They jostled and squeezed, each trying to give their overheated bodies a moment of refreshing relief.
Just then, the farmer walked into the bathroom. He shook his head in confusion and muttered, “I thought I’d seen everything on this farm, but this is truly something new.” But the farmer was a kind man, and he knew the animals needed to cool down. Since the only water was in his bathroom, he let the animals come and cool off in his tub all summer long.
