Question for the Ages
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 youthful happiness. So he offered him
freedom, as long as he could
answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have
a year to figure out the
answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer,
he would be put to death.
The question was:
What do women really want?
Such a question would perplex even the most
knowledgeable man, and, to young
Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. Well, 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
everybody: the princess, the
prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court
jester. In all, he spoke
with everyone, but no one could give him a
satisfactory answer.
What most people did tell him was to consult the
old witch, as only she
would know the answer. The price would be high,
since the witch was famous
throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices
she charged.
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no
alternative but to talk
to the witch.
She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to
accept her price first:
The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most
noble of the Knights of the
Round Table and Arthur's closest friend! Young
Arthur was horrified: she was
hunchbacked and awfully hideous, had only one
tooth, smelled like sewage
water, often made obscene noises...etc. He had
never run across such a
repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend
to marry her and have to
endure such a burden.
Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with
Arthur. He told him that
nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to
Arthur's life and the
preservation of the Round Table. Hence, their
wedding was proclaimed, and
the witch answered Arthur's question:
What a woman really wants is to be able to be in
charge of her own life.
Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered
a great truth and that
Arthur's life would be spared. And so it went. The
neighboring monarch
spared Arthur's life and granted him total freedom.
What a wedding Gawain
and the witch had! Arthur was torn between relief
and anguish. Gawain was
proper as always, gentle and courteous. The old
witch put her worst manners
on display, and generally made everyone very
uncomfortable.
The wedding night approached: Gawain, steeling
himself for a horrific night,
entered the bedroom. What a sight awaited! The most
beautiful woman he'd
ever seen lay before him! Gawain was astounded and
asked what had happened.
The beauty replied that since he had been so kind
to her (when she'd been a
witch), half the time she would be her horrible,
deformed self, and the
other half, she would be her beautiful maiden self.
Which would he want her
to be during the day, and which during the night?
What a cruel question! Gawain began to think of his
predicament:
During the day a beautiful woman to show off to his
friends, but at night,
in the privacy of his home, an old spooky witch? Or
would he prefer having
by day a hideous witch, but by night a beautiful
woman to enjoy many
intimate moments?
What would you do? What Gawain chose follows below,
but don't read until
you've made your own choice.
Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose
for herself.
Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be
beautiful all the time,
because he had respected her and had let her be in
charge of her own life.=
What is the moral of this story?
The moral is that it doesn't matter if your woman
is pretty or ugly,
underneath it all, she's still a witch---and don't
you forget it.
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 youthful happiness. So he offered him
freedom, as long as he could
answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have
a year to figure out the
answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer,
he would be put to death.
The question was:
What do women really want?
Such a question would perplex even the most
knowledgeable man, and, to young
Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. Well, 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
everybody: the princess, the
prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court
jester. In all, he spoke
with everyone, but no one could give him a
satisfactory answer.
What most people did tell him was to consult the
old witch, as only she
would know the answer. The price would be high,
since the witch was famous
throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices
she charged.
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no
alternative but to talk
to the witch.
She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to
accept her price first:
The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most
noble of the Knights of the
Round Table and Arthur's closest friend! Young
Arthur was horrified: she was
hunchbacked and awfully hideous, had only one
tooth, smelled like sewage
water, often made obscene noises...etc. He had
never run across such a
repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend
to marry her and have to
endure such a burden.
Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with
Arthur. He told him that
nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to
Arthur's life and the
preservation of the Round Table. Hence, their
wedding was proclaimed, and
the witch answered Arthur's question:
What a woman really wants is to be able to be in
charge of her own life.
Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered
a great truth and that
Arthur's life would be spared. And so it went. The
neighboring monarch
spared Arthur's life and granted him total freedom.
What a wedding Gawain
and the witch had! Arthur was torn between relief
and anguish. Gawain was
proper as always, gentle and courteous. The old
witch put her worst manners
on display, and generally made everyone very
uncomfortable.
The wedding night approached: Gawain, steeling
himself for a horrific night,
entered the bedroom. What a sight awaited! The most
beautiful woman he'd
ever seen lay before him! Gawain was astounded and
asked what had happened.
The beauty replied that since he had been so kind
to her (when she'd been a
witch), half the time she would be her horrible,
deformed self, and the
other half, she would be her beautiful maiden self.
Which would he want her
to be during the day, and which during the night?
What a cruel question! Gawain began to think of his
predicament:
During the day a beautiful woman to show off to his
friends, but at night,
in the privacy of his home, an old spooky witch? Or
would he prefer having
by day a hideous witch, but by night a beautiful
woman to enjoy many
intimate moments?
What would you do? What Gawain chose follows below,
but don't read until
you've made your own choice.
Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose
for herself.
Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be
beautiful all the time,
because he had respected her and had let her be in
charge of her own life.=
What is the moral of this story?
The moral is that it doesn't matter if your woman
is pretty or ugly,
underneath it all, she's still a witch---and don't
you forget it.
