Chinese Folk Tales (1) - The Smart Wife

There once was a young farmer who married a girl both beautiful and intelligent. She was so intelligent, in fact, that nothing fooled her and she thus became known around town as “the smart wife.” So pleased with his wife, the young man asked her to write a scroll that read “Nothing is impossible to us,” and had it posted on their front door.

One day the magistrate happened by their door and was greatly displeased by what was written on the scroll. “How dare they boast like that,” he thought. He then asked his fellows to bring the young farmer to his office.

When the young man arrived, the magistrate said, “How dare you brag like that? Well, in order to prove what you say is true, I order you to fulfill three tasks. The first is to raise a pig as heavy as a mountain; the second is to brew as much wine as there is water in the sea; the third is to weave a thread of cotton as long as a road.”

The young man didn’t know how to respond. Seeing this, the magistrate slammed his fist down on the table and said, “You claim that nothing is impossible for you. Completing these three tasks should be no problem at all. I’ll give you three days. Be warned though. If you fail, I’ll have your head!”

Back at home, the young man told his wife the whole story. She simply smiled and said, “There’s no need to worry over something as small as this. Tomorrow, take our scale, measuring cup, and ruler and go back to the magistrate’s office. Then, do just as I say, and everything will be fine.”

The next day, he went to the magistrate’s office with the three objects above.

The magistrate asked, “Have you fulfilled the three tasks?”

The young man leisurely replied, “Your Excellency, all three tasks are all within my ability, but I’m just not sure exactly how heavy a pig you want me to raise, how much wine you want me to brew, or how long a thread of cotton you want me to weave.” Then offering his scale, measuring cup, and ruler to the magistrate, he said, “I have brought three measuring instruments with me. If you could just weigh a mountain, measure the amount of water in the sea, and measure the length of a road for me, I’ll be more than happy to complete the tasks I have been assigned.” Now it was the magistrate’s turn to be speechless. He had no choice but to cancel the three tasks. The young man went home happily and more in love with his wife than ever before.