How a Husband Put His Wife Off Tales

There once lived a lodging-house keeper. He had a wife who was passionately fond of tales, and she forbade him to take in any lodger who could not tell them.…

There once lived a lodging-house keeper. He had a wife who was passionately fond of tales, and she forbade him to take in any lodger who could not tell them. This, of course, lost her husband money, and he thought, “How can I put my wife off tales?” One winter, late at night, an old man came along, chilled to the bone, and asked for a night's lodging. The husband ran out to him:

“Well,” he said, “can you tell tales? My wife won't let me admit anyone who can't.”

The traveller saw he was in trouble: he was almost freezing to death.

“I can,” he said.

“And how long will you tell them?”

“All night.”

Well, that was good. They let the man in. The husband said:

“Now, wife, this man has promised to tell tales all night, but only if nobody contradicts or interrupts him.”

The traveller said:

“Yes, no contradicting me, or I won't tell them.”

They ate supper and lay down to sleep, and the traveller began:

“An owl flew past a garden, settled on a log and drank some water; an owl flew past a garden, settled on a log and drank some water…”

And he went on repeating the same thing:

“An owl flew past a garden, settled on a log and drank some water…”

The mistress listened and listened, then said:

“What sort of tale is this? He keeps repeating the same thing!”

“Then why are you interrupting me? I told you not to contradict me. That's how the tale goes at the beginning; something different comes later.”

When the husband heard this—and it was just what he had wanted—he jumped off the bench and began beating his wife:

“You were told not to contradict him! And you wouldn't even let him finish the tale!”

He beat her again and again, until his wife came to hate tales, and from that day she vowed never to listen to them.