Once upon a time, a young woman sat outside her house and wept. Then an old woman, who went from house to house asking for alms, came and asked, "What has happened to make you cry?"
"Oh, good woman, my husband scolds me every day, even threatens to beat me."
"That is bad," said the old woman, "but tell me, what do you do when he scolds you?"
"When he scolds, I scold too! If he says one word, I say ten, but it's no use at all."
"Well, perhaps I can help you," said the old woman.
"Oh, please help me, for I cannot go on living like this. I will give you a rich present in return."
The old woman searched in her bag and pulled out a small bottle and said, "This is a magic potion. Always carry the vial with you, and if there is another quarrel, take a sip from the vial. Keep it in your mouth, but don't swallow and don't spit it out, until the quarrel is over and you will see that peace returns to your home."
The young woman promised to do everything exactly as the old woman had said.
Not long after, the man returned home and soon the quarrel started. One word led to another, it got louder and louder, until the woman remembered the bottle with the magic potion. She quickly opened it, took a sip and kept the magic water in her mouth. And oh wonder: when the woman didn't say a word, the man fell silent and peace returned to the house.
The woman did this every day and it didn't take long before she was happy again. Once she was sitting in front of the house singing and shelling fresh peas when the old woman came along the path again. She saw the young woman and asked: "What happened to make you so happy? Has my magic potion helped?"
"Oh, good woman, your magic potion has worked wonders. Whenever my husband wants to quarrel, I take a sip and not for long, then he becomes peaceful and the quarrel is forgotten. I will now also give you your wages."
The young woman ran into the house, came out again with bread, bacon and said, "Here, this is for you, but please, give me some more of the magic water, my bottle is almost empty."
The old woman took the bread and bacon and said, "From now on you can take the water from the well and this too will work wonders", then she went away smiling.

Fairy tale from the Ukraine,© translated by S.Fuss/Lysander Jaenike, based on version from Djamila Jaenike, after: Das Luchsfellchen, Berlin o. J.