A RUSSIAN TALE

Once upon a time three men who didnt know each other met at a Russian tavern. The first man was a fine artist, a woodcarver. The second one was a tailor who was skilled in cutting and sewing clothes. The third one was a teacher, who had read a lot of books and could write and read very well. They ate, drank and talked the whole night. So, in the morning they decided to travel together. They had been walking for many days when they got to a steep mountain through a deep forest. They could hear the wolves howling in the distance. They were obviously afraid of meeting those dangerous animals on their way, so they decided to climb a big tree and spent the night on its branches. So, thats what they did. They needed to be awake, because if they slept they could fall down from the tree and be killed by the wolves. So they started to show each other their abilities: the woodcarver started to carver from the tree the tailor decided to cut and sew some clothes, and the teacher started to tell them some stories. !hen the morning came, the teacher and the tailor got very surprised: the woodcarver had carved a life"si#e woman from the tree. Then, the tailor said:

Ill sew beautiful clothes for her. The teacher said: Ill teach her to think, read and write. So thats what they did. $fter finishing their work, the three of them said at the same time: She belongs to me. So, they started to argue. The woodcarver said: I made her. I carved her from the tree. She is mine! The tailor said: %&ut if it werent for me, she wouldnt be so beautiful and attractive. 'ts sure she is mine() The teacher said: And If it werent for me, she couldnt think, read and write. Theres no doubt that she is mine! $fter a long and hard discussion, they decided to ask a fourth person about the matter. They would ask the first person they met on their way. That person would decided to whom the woman belonged.

So, some hours after they met an old woman that walked with difficulty. She seemed to be about *+ years old. $fter listening to the arguments of the three men, she said wisely: h! dont !ou ask the woman" She can think now, so she can decide herself. They didnt have other alternative but asking her. $nd her answer surprised everyone: I thank !ou three for ever!thing !ou did# for carving me from the three, for giving me beautiful clothes and for teaching me to think, read and write. $ut I dont want to belong to an!one. I want to be free. %et me go now and live m! own life. $nd thats the end of our story.