True then, still true today.....

Posted June 9, 200321 yr

comment_40359

>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 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: 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 everybody: the princess, the

>prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, 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 -- only she would know the answer. The

>price would be high; the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the

>exorbitant prices she exacted.

>

>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

>hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made

>obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a

>repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend to marry her and have to

>endure such a burden.

>

>But 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 thus: "What a woman really

>wants is 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 was. The neighboring monarch granted Arthur

>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 honeymoon hour approached. Gawain, steeling

>himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But what a sight

>awaited him! The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen lay before him!

>

>The astounded Gawain asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since

>he had been so kind to her when she'd appeared as a witch, she would

>henceforth be her horrible, deformed self half the time, 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 pondered 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 witch? Or would he prefer having by day a hideous witch,

>but by night a beautiful woman with whom 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.

>

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> WAIT!

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> THINK!

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>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

>enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

>

>What is the moral of this story?

>

> WAIT!

>

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> THINK!

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>The moral is: If a woman doesn't get her own way,

>things are going to get ugly!