There is a story about a man who was better at raising children than calves on his drought-afflicted ranch. According to the tale, it was this rancher's habit to go outside each evening and gaze wishfully at the clear, starry sky. One night, after studying the horizon, he gathered pebbles in a bucket and began throwing handfuls on the roof of his family's house. This prompted the rancher's good wife to come out, demanding to know what had prompted such curious behavior. "There is lightning in the west and it might rain. Surely, if not tonight, it will rain eventually," the rancher is said to have replied. "I thought it would be a good idea for the kids to get accustomed to hearing something fall on the roof. Then, when it does rain, they won't spook and stampede."
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