The Man With Two Wives
A Fable by Aesop
A long time ago, there was a man who had two wives. He was middle-aged. His first wife, who he had married many years ago, was the same age as him. His second wife was much younger.
One night, when the man was with his younger wife, she ran her hands through his hair. As she did this, she noticed several gray hairs.
“You’re getting so old!” she exclaimed. “Let me pluck out your gray hairs.”
“No, I don’t want you to pluck out my hairs!” the man answered.
“But I’m young. I don’t want people to see me with you if you have gray hair. I’ll be embarrassed for people to see me with a very old husband. When people see us together, they’ll think that you’re my father!”
And so the man finally agreed, and his young wife plucked out all his gray hairs. She started doing this every time she saw her husband. If she noticed any gray hairs, she plucked them out.
One night, when the man was with his older wife, she, too, noticed his gray hairs. But his older wife was very pleased to see it because she, too, was starting to go gray.
“Can I please pluck out your black hairs? I want you to have gray hair!” she said.
“No, I don’t want you to pluck out my hairs!” the man answered.
“But my hair is going gray,” she said. “And if you have black hair and I have gray hair, I will look too old to be your wife. When people see us together, they’ll think that I’m your mother!”
So the man reluctantly agreed, and his older wife started to pluck out his black hairs. Every time she saw him, she plucked out his black hairs.
After a few months, the man was bald.
The moral of the story: If you give in to everyone, you will have nothing left.