The four wives

Honey2 · #1 (permalink) Sun Jul 26, 2009 21:25 pm *The four wives*

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !"

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.

Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our deathbed to lament

_________________
live quite life

Gray · #2 (permalink) Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:56 am *The four wives*

Good one. I liked the story.
_________________
First lesson - English, not english. I, not i. ~A student of English

Kitosdad · #3 (permalink) Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:22 am *The four wives*

I too liked it very much.
_________________
Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

Kiprida · #4 (permalink) Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:40 am *The four wives*

Dear Honey,

I heard this story. I can say that the East is beautiful with it's wise stories!!!

~Phoebe
_________________
incomplete....

Kitosdad · #5 (permalink) Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:11 am *The four wives*

I'd love to see more contributors here.The story should be original and of your own ideas.

There are so many avenues for your imagination to explore.

Writing is similar to speaking, so you are doing two exercises at the same time.

Think, write, think, write.

The sea.
The countryside.
The city.
The farm.
The factory.
Love and disloyalty.
The thief.
The blind man.
The street musician...................... so many stories waiting to be told. Fire your imagination, it's all waiting for your attention. Don't let your imagination lie idle.
Put it to work and entertain us.

Kitos.
_________________
Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

Honey2 · #6 (permalink) Mon Jul 27, 2009 13:56 pm *The four wives*

I donnot write it

But I promise you to write STORY ABOUT THE EAST TRADITIONAL
_________________
live quite life

Gray · #7 (permalink) Tue Jul 28, 2009 19:42 pm *The four wives*

Tomasito · #8 (permalink) Tue Jul 28, 2009 19:55 pm *The four wives*

It's a beautiful story. Shows us the real love, but I don't agree with the conclusion, this because I don't believe in soul. I prefer another moral at the end which is related with the real life, and not the sub natural life.
_________________
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
- Will Durant

Kiprida · #9 (permalink) Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:04 am *The four wives*

Gray,

Such wise stories passes through centuries in the East and nobody knows who was the author. These are like proverbs, they are very ancient. I also heard this story in my country!

~Phoebe
_________________
incomplete....

Abdullahredsea · #10 (permalink) Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:25 am *The four wives*

Hi Honey2,

Keep it up. Its nice. But try to highlight some saudi arabian stories.

best,

Abdullah khan
jeddah

Honey2 · #11 (permalink) Thu Jul 30, 2009 16:17 pm *The four wives*

Honey2 · #12 (permalink) Thu Jul 30, 2009 16:18 pm *The four wives*

Honey2 · #13 (permalink) Thu Jul 30, 2009 16:19 pm *The four wives*

Honey2 · #14 (permalink) Thu Jul 30, 2009 16:19 pm *The four wives*

Kiprida · #15 (permalink) Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:15 am *The four wives*

	ESL Forum \| What do you want to talk about?	All times are GMT + 1 Hour Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2