Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of the
neighbouring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was
moved by Arthur's youthful happiness.
So he offered him freedom, as long 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 monarchs proposition to have an
answer
by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the
princesses, the prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, and 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 totalk 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 rude 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 Arthurs 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
neighbouring 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 on until you've made your own choice.
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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.
