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The question Arthur would be required to answer 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. But, since the only other option was death, Arthur wisely accepted the monarch's proposition and promised to have the correct 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 anyone and everyone, but none gave him what he felt was a satisfactory answer.
Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for they knew that only she would have the answer. But, they cautioned him, her price will be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged to dispense her wisdom.
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur, still with no satifactory answer, had no choice but to consult the witch. She agreed to answer his question, provided he would agree to her price.
Arthur asked what price she was seeking? She replied that she wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!
Young Arthur was horrified. The witch was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, and her clothing was abominable. 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 hag's proposal, spoke with Arthur. Lancelot insisted that no sacrifice was too great if he could spare the king's life and preserve the Round Table! He was there to serve his King!
Hence, a 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 in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would most certainly be spared. And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch were married within the hour.
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, naked on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened?
The beauty replied that since he had been so gallant as to marry a witch for his king, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and a beautiful maiden the other half.
She then asked, "Which would you prefer? Shall I be beautiful during the day...or night?"
Lancelot pondered her question. ... During the day, a beautiful (but wise) woman to show off to his friends, and at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous (but wise) witch during the day, and by night, a beautiful woman with whom to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?
What would YOU do?
Think hard now and be honest with yourself. If placed in this position, what would you really do?
What Lancelot Did
The always valiant Lancelot made the wisest of all choices and told the witch that he would prefer she made the choice herself.
Upon hearing Lancelot's decision, she danced with glee and announced that she would be beautiful all the time because Lancelot respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life and make her own decisions. She added that no woman wants to be ugly!
The moral of the Story
If you don't let a woman make her own decisions .... things are going to get ugly. :)
The moral is that it doesn't matter if a woman is pretty or ugly, smart or dumb. Underneath it all, she's still a . . . . . witch!
Tell that to your wife in the middle of .... well just see how much "true love" you ever get again! :)
You're not too submissive ... you're just not the "Caveman" the rest of these blighters are! Obviously, there's at least one sensible guy on this board! ;)
I'm too submissive
Why is it that images of women dressed in studded black leather skirts and boots keep coming to mind when I read and re-read caveman's . . cough . . true confession? :-P
Hand that smooth talking, women loving caveman the silver tongue award. I bow to his evolvedness. ;p
Hey, what happened to talking about witches and which is right and which is wrong?
If woman are equals, why don't we see them in the NHL, NFL, or for instance.... the beloved Fifa tourny?
Because as Lancelot knew ... women are wise! If we really want a puck, or ball, that badly, we wouldn't elbow, high stick, grab, trip or mame someone else to get it ... we simply take your credit card and buy one! :)
If woman are equals, why don't we see them in the NHL, NFL, or for instance.... the beloved Fifa tourny?
Because women are too smart to use steroids - And to civilized to play such sports.
I have to admit - even as a guy - that's pretty lame to use the physical size excuse for not being equals.
I do know this for sure, that if there were more women in politics, there would be a lot less war in this world. So the key here is balance - understanding what each gender brings to the table. ;)
She then asked, "Which would you prefer? Shall I be beautiful during the day...or night?"
The problem with this is that, as outlined, when women ask for an opinion from men they aren't necessarily asking for an opinion at all.
This isn't obvious to most men. (Including me).
When I want an opinion from someone I ask them.
If I have already made up my mind about something, I don't ask for an opinion.
Therefore, when someone asks me for my opinion I assume the request is being made candidly and that it would be a little disrespectful not to actually say what I think, albeit diplomatically, if necessary.
There's a difference between the witch saying that she can only be beautiful half the time and Lancelot suddenly interrupting her and saying "Oh well in that case you'd better be beautiful between the hours of 23:00 and 10:59!" and her actually asking him to state his preference... and the right answer (apparently) being for him to refuse to answer the question he's just been asked.
The idea that someone makes up their mind about something and then goes and asks another person for their opinion anyway, with no intention of paying heed to it, just seems a bit bonkers to me.