Moonrakers

Moonrakers is the name of a popular folk story that originated in England. It tells the tale of a group of smugglers who hid their illegal goods, like alcohol and tobacco, in a pond or lake near the town of Wiltshire. To avoid getting caught by the authorities, the smugglers came up with a clever plan. They decided to pretend that they were trying to rake the moon out of the water.

Now, you might be thinking: "But wait, the moon is in the sky, not in the water!" And you're right. But the smugglers knew that if they pretended to be fools, nobody would suspect them of being smugglers. So, they went to the pond one night and began raking the water with long poles, pretending to try to catch the moon.

When some local officials saw the smugglers apparently trying to rake the moon out of the water, they laughed and mocked them, thinking they were just a bunch of silly drunks. The smugglers took advantage of this and used the distraction to escape with their hidden goods.

And that's how the story of the Moonrakers was born. It's a reminder that sometimes the best way to trick people is to act like a fool, and that even those who seem like simpletons can be quite clever.