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>Young King Arthur was imprisoned and sentenced to death by a
neighboring
>King. Instead of killing him, however, the King, moved by Arthur's
youth
>and ideals, offered him freedom in exchange for answering a 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 has perplexed even the most
>knowledgeable men, and, to King Arthur, it seemed an impossible query.
But,
>since it was better than instant 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... everybody he could think of.
>
>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 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 but 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....... very unpleasant.
He
>had never encountered 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, thus:
>
>***What women really want is to be in charge of their 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.
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>The 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 enough to let her be in charge of her own
>life. What is the moral of this story?
>
>The moral is: If you don't let women have their own way, things are
going
>to get ugly!
>
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