Once upon a time, a foolish man was sitting in a meeting. To impress the other men in the group, he boasted about his supposed knowledge. "I know the measure of the earth. I know exactly how big it is. I'll tell you tomorrow." The others didn't believe him and challenged him to a bet. By the end of the evening, he had wagered his entire fortune and went home disgruntled.  His wife realised straight away that something was wrong. "What bad thing have you experienced today that you don't want to eat and are already lying down to sleep?"

"Oh, I've bet my fortune that I'll be able to say the measure of the earth tomorrow." The woman knew what to do and said: "That's easy. Go to the agreed place tomorrow and stick a stick in the ground. Then tell the men: The earth is this many thousand paces from here and again this many thousand paces in the other direction. And if they claim that you are not telling the truth, ask them to measure it. If they can prove that it is not true, let them punish you." Now the man ate his supper contentedly and went to sleep. The next morning, he did as his wife had told him. Of course, no one was sure whether the man was right. But nobody wanted to check. So he was able to keep his fortune.

The king also heard about this. He had the man come to him and asked him: "Tell me, who gave you this advice?"

"My wife," the man replied honestly.

The king wanted to know exactly: "Your wife is clever. Is she also beautiful?"

And again the man said truthfully: "Yes, my wife is clever, beautiful and young."

"If your wife is clever, beautiful and young, then she is mine as king. Bring her to me tomorrow and I will marry her."

That day too, the man went home dejected. His wife immediately asked: "What's wrong? Why are you so sad?"

"The king asked me about your cleverness and I said that you are clever, beautiful and young, and now he wants you as his wife."

His wife shook her head. "You stupid man. Why would you say that to the king? Now go to him tomorrow and tell him that I was so pleased with his offer that I prepared a meal for the king and his advisors." So the man did. He invited the king and came back to his house with him and his advisors. The woman had already set the table. There were bowls and platters of meat. But she had filled all the crockery with flax and then laid a piece of cloth over each one. There was wool, the finest silk, a gold-embroidered cloth, colourful woven fabrics, a linen cloth and a piece of cotton.

When the king sat down at the table, he took a bowl and picked up the cloth. But there was only flax in it. Then he reached for another plate, lifted the gold-embroidered cloth and found only flax. He did the same when he took wool, silk, linen and all the other cloths from the bowls. Now the king became angry. "Your wife has made a fool of us. She is making fun of us. What is all this supposed to mean?"

The woman came to the table and said, "King, women's faces are as different as the cloths on my table. There are fine and coarse, colourful and noble cloths. Such are the faces and natures of women. But inside, everything is like flax. Whether we are beautiful or unattractive, our nature is the same."

The king was amazed and understood that this woman preferred to remain faithful to her husband rather than leave him and have the honour of marrying a king. In gratitude for the wisdom of this comparison, the king gave the couple a lot of money and said: "I have frightened you and your husband with my evil plan. But you have saved me from a sin by this comparison."

Märchen aus Äthiopien, Fassung Anina Meile, nach: Carl Meinhof,  Afrikanische Märchen, Jena 1917, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike © Mutabor Märchenstiftung