There once lived a farmer named Perry. He was a happy man. In fact, there was only one thing in life that made Perry unhappy. His wife, Tess, loved to talk. She was a sweet lady, and Perry loved her very much. But Tess was always telling everyone everything.

Many times, when Perry needed a break from Tess's talking, he would go for a walk in the woods. Perry loved his walks. Being alone in the woods was so quiet and peaceful.

One afternoon, as Perry was on one of his walks, he noticed something strange.

"What is wrong with that tree?" he said aloud. Just ahead, he spied a tree that was growing sideways.

As Perry walked closer to the tree, he saw that its leaves were made of pure gold!

"I'm rich!" he yelled. "I'm rich! I'm rich!" Perry danced and sang.

But just then, he realized something: Once Tess found out about this wonderful tree, she would tell everyone. Perry looked at the tree. He knew that once word got out about its golden leaves, everyone would rush to pick it clean. So, he came up with the perfect plan.

The next morning Perry took Tess to see the tree.

"We're rich!" Tess yelled out. "This is amazing! How do you think this tree was able to grow golden leaves?"

"Well," Perry began, "I made four dozen pancakes and scattered them all over its branches. A week later the pancakes had turned the leaves into gold!" Perry felt bad about lying to his wife. He loved her dearly, but he knew it was the only way to keep this tree a secret.

Tess smiled at Perry. "You are such a smart farmer!"

The next day Tess ran all around town, telling everyone about the tree, the pancakes, and the gold. It was just as Perry had expected. Nobody believed her.

"Tess has lost her marbles!" said Mary, the town's doctor.

"Perry thinks he can turn pancakes into gold!" laughed Borris, the town's police officer.

"A pancake tree?" cried Newman, a local friend. "Do you really think we're going to believe there's such a thing as a pancake tree?"

It was just as Perry had hoped. Nobody believed Tess. Finally, Tess's love for talking had paid off.