King Arthur and the Witch
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, knowing the answer the
witch gave Arthur to his question, 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.
Now....what is the moral to this story?
The moral is..... If you don't let a woman
have her own way.... Things are going to get ugly.
Submitted by Patty, Ringo, NJ