One Animal Crossing New Horizons fan shared a screenshot of their villager, Vivian, stating a rhyme: "How many books could Tom Nook cook if Tom Nook cooked his books?" While Vivian likely doesn't know what Tom's practices are, this could be a way the developers hint at his unscrupulous nature. Vivian's remark about Tom Nook "cooking the books" alludes to real-world financial terms, where a person manipulates accounting records to create a more favorable picture of a company's financial health.
The caption, "Love when the villagers spill some lore about Tom Nook," shows the poster who believes there's more truth to that rhyme than whimsy. The fact that Tom Nook is a tanuki in Japan, but a raccoon internationally also feeds into this idea. The Tanuki has a long history of trickery in Japanese folklore, and raccoons are associated with thievery. This small line seems more than a simple joke, as the theory that Tom Nook isn't honest has been present since the first game.
Many players jokingly agreed with the sentiment, referencing Tom Nook's reputation for being a somewhat unscrupulous businessman in Animal Crossing due to his role as the main loan provider in the game. Some users...
