"...after a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
One of my favorite folktales to tell is Be Nice, Be Polite. There's more than one way to look at this story. It's a funny tale, so it isn't often considered a good candidate for holding much wisdom, but in truth, we actually learn more while we are laughing.
The story is like the waterfall and pond - you can look at and enjoy the beautiful surface or you can dive in and explore the depths. We don't know if what we'll find below is attractive or frightening, but it's always worth the attempt. It may not even seem clear at first what we're seeing, but take some time, be still and let the water settle. It's not called clarity for nothin'.
One aspect of this tale can be pointed to by the quote at the beginning of this post. After all, the young woman, as any young woman of her time, would have looked forward in hopefulness to a successful match - which she got. Then, she would want to have children - which she got, and mostly, she wanted them to be polite. Which she got.
As my grandfather used to say, 'be careful what you wish for....you just might get it.'
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