What the Wise Man Says is Always Right

Okay, I am going to tell you a story that I learned in Language Arts class called, "What the Wise Man Says is Always Right". Its somewhat long, so get ready to READ!

Once upon a time there lived a man and his wife. They were very happy together, but they were somewhat poor. One day, the wife decided that her husband should go into town and trade their horse for something nice. The husband decided that it was okay, and he left for town.
Along the way, he saw a man with a cow. "That looks like a fine cow," the husband told himself, "my wife could have milk and cheese for quite a long time!" So, he called to the man with the cow. "Excuse me, sir! Yes, you with the cow! Could I talk to you?" the man with the cow walked toward him.
"What is it?" the man with the cow said.
"Well, I happened to notice that you had such a nice cow. Would you like to trade for my horse?"
"Your horse... for my cow?" the man asked. He was thinking how GREAT of a deal this was, but he didn't want to show it on his face.
"Yes, we'll swap,"the husband said.
"Is there anything WRONG with your horse?"
"No,"
"Okay then..." the man said, and they swapped animals. The husband was delighted with his deal, but he decided to keep looking around town. He soon found a man with a sheep.
"Sir! Yes, you with the sheep! Could you like to trade?" the husband asked.
"Huh?" he asked, "Your cow... for my sheep? Is this some kind of joke?"
"No," So, they swapped.

To shorten the story, he repeats this quite a few times. He trades his sheep for a goose, his goose for a hen, and then he keeps walking.

A while later, he is so thirsty that he decides to stop at an inn to get a drink. As he was walking in, he saw a man (yes, always a man!!!) carrying a large sack. The man told the husband that the sack was filled with rotton apples for the pigs. The husband remembers how much his wife loves apples, and so, despite them being rotton, he trades his hen for the apples.

Inside the inn, he meets up with some rich Englishmen, who ask him why he is carrying a sack of rotton apples. He tells him the tale of how he traded horse for cow, cow for sheep, sheep for goose, goose for hen, and hen for apples. After he is done, the Englishmen begin to laugh. "What's the matter?" the husband said.
"You threw away your horse, and got a bag of rotton apples!" an Englishman said in a British accent. The husband was mad at the Englishmen, and he bets that his wife will be happy with his trades. The deal is, if the Englishmen win, they get the apples, and a good laugh. If he wins, he gets a jar of gold. (Pfft, who wouldn't want to win?!) So, the husband comes home and tells his wife the story. "Oh, I love cows!" she would exclaim, or rather, "Sheep are so adorable!", ect. After she hears of the apples, however, she pauses for a moment.
The Englishmen grin. But to their surprise, the wife smiles and hugs her husband. She says, "I was going to make you a special dinner tonight, and I needed some chives! But the neighbor said that she wouldn't give me any chives, because I had not even one rotton apple to trade for them! But now, I have a whole sack of rotton apples!" and the Englishmen laugh and give the husband his gold.

***MORAL ALERT*** But, the husband realized that he would rather have his wife be happy then have all the gold in the world. (he kept it, though)

The End! Good story, eh? Its an old folktale. :P Anyway, if you have a valentine that you want to virtually give to someone, talk to Owen, the Love Guru. :P

~Wyatt :D