Fables for the Fair/Fable 23
THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
THERE was once a Woman who Understood her Fellow Men very Thoroughly. This Endeared her to Many of Them, but as she was Very Particular in Her Tastes, they Seldom Suited her. Finally, however, she Found a Man who Perfectly Satisfied all her Requirements. She then Brought to Bear upon him All her Information concerning His Sex, which was Great. One day the Man's Sister Called on Her and said, "It is a Good Thing that you are So Strong, for so is He, and He does Not Like Delicate Women."
At this the Woman Smiled. "I should be Very Foolish were I to Act on This Hint," said she. "My Knowledge of Men teaches me that Such Men invariably Prefer Women of Opposite Disposition from Themselves." So when he Next Saw her she Told him that she was Terribly Afraid of Mice and Could Not Walk Far.
Again His Sister Called on Her and said, "It is a Good Thing that you Understand Politics so Well, for he is Much Interested in them, and says that All Intelligent Women should be, too."
The Woman Smiled Wisely. "I should be More than Foolish were to Allow myself to be Deceived by This," she said. “When a Woman admits that she can Master Politics, then it is All Up with Her. A Man's last claim to Superiority is Gone, and Life would be Unendurable to Him without That." So when he next Saw her she Asked him if it were True that Republicans were Better Dressed than Democrats, and why So Many People were Betting Sixteen to One on the Election.
By and by he Stopped Calling, and she Learned to her Horror that he had Engaged himself to a Woman who had Written a Pamphlet on the Silver Question. She herself had Given a great Many Ideas on this Subject to the Other Woman. Thus she Realized that the Man was Peculiar.
This teaches us that Things are Sometimes What they Seem.