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?

Noble Lancelot 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.