The Woman and Her Drunkard Husband

There was a woman whose husband was a drunkard. To get the better of him and his vice she devised a plan. She waited for the moment when her husband was so drunk that he was like a corpse, then she heaved him up over her shoulders, carried him to the cemetery and dumped him there. When she thought he had slept it off, she went back to the cemetery and knocked on the door of the vault.

'Who's that at the door?' the drunkard called out.

'It's me, who comes to bring food for the dead,' replied his wife mournfully.

'Don't bring me anything to eat, my good man. Bring me more to drink. You distress me by talking about food and not drink.'

The wife, beating her breast, cried out:

'Alas! How miserable I am! My plan has had no effect on you, husband! For not only are you not sober but you have become even worse. Your weakness has now become second nature to you.'

This fable shows that you shouldn't become habituated to a loose way of life, for there comes a time when habit forces itself upon you, whether you like it or not.

MoralLeft unchecked, bad habits will become too deeply ingrained to be corrected.