Young
King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring
kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's
youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he
could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to
figure out the answer and, if after a year, he
still had no answer, he would be put to death.
The question? ... What do
women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most
knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query.
But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's
proposition to have an answer by year's end.
He returned to his kingdom
and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and
even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him
a satisfactory answer.
Many people advised him to
consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price
would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the
exorbitant prices she charged.
The last day of the year
arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to
answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The
old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of
the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!
Young Arthur was horrified.
She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like
sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a
repugnant creature in all his life.
He refused to force his
friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot,
learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He said nothing was too big
of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the
Round Table.
Hence, a wedding was
proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus: What a woman
really wants, she answered.... is to be in charge of her own life.
Everyone in the kingdom
instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that
Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was, the neighboring monarch
granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful
wedding.
The honeymoon hour
approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience,
entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful
woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot
asked what had happened.
The beauty replied that
since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would
henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the
beautiful maiden the other half.
Which would he prefer?
Beautiful during the day ... or night?
Lancelot pondered the
predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his
friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or,
would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a
beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?
What would you do?
Noble
Lancelot said that he would allow her to make the choice herself.
Upon
hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time
because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own
life.
By Tim Pedrosa
If you don't let a woman have her own way
...things could get really ugly. |