The lion’s whisker

Once upon a time, there lived a young husband and wife in a small village. For some time, the husband had not been happy with his marriage. He began to come home late from working in the fields. Even though his wife thought he was the most wonderful man, his behaviour was making her miserable.

Finally, the wife visited the village elder, who was the oldest and wisest person in the village. The elder was sad to hear her marriage was not a happy one.

"I want my husband and I to be loving," she said. "We are both miserable."

"I can prepare a secret potion that will change your husband into a loving man. But I am missing an important ingredient," the elder said slowly.

"What do you need?" the young wife asked eagerly. "I'll bring it today."

"I need a whisker taken from a living lion to make the potion work."

Her eyes widened in alarm. She bit her bottom lip. She straightened her shoulders. "I'll get it for you," she nodded.

The next morning, the young wife carried a huge piece of raw meat down to the river where lions sometimes came to drink. She hid behind a tree and waited.

After waiting many hours, a lion ambled down to the river. He sniffed at the raw meat. In three bites, the meat was gone. He raised his mighty head. He knew she was there. The young wife held her breath. The mighty lion moved slowly back into the forest and disappeared.

The next day, the young wife came again. This time, the lion appeared quite quickly. This continued for many days. Days became weeks. Each day, the woman crept from her hiding place behind the tree, moving closer and closer to the lion.

At the end of four weeks, she moved quietly next to the lion and sat silently while he ate. Her hand shaking, she reached slowly out and pulled a whisker from his chin. Holding per prize firmly in one hand, she sat frozen until the lion had disappeared back into the forest. She then ran to the elder, waving the whisker.

"I have it," she shouted. "I have it!"

The elder was in awe when he heard her story.

"You do not need magic to change your husband back into the loving man he once was. You are brave enough to pull a whisker from the chin of a living lion. It took intelligence and bravery to do what you have done. Can you not use that same patience, courage, and wit with your husband?

"But the potion," the young wife said eagerly. "Would not that work as well?"

"Perhaps," the elder told her. "But it would not last. Trust me, my child. Show your husband each day that you love him. Share his problems. Make him feel welcome. Make him feel wanted and needed. Give him time to change and see what happens."

The young wife went home and followed the elder's advice. Slowly, her husband began to return from the fields with the other men of the village. He began to look glad to see her. Within a year, their life was a happy one.

Compiled from Internet sources