A loving old couple lived in a little cottage. They were not very rich but they were very happy. Their only possession was a horse.
One day, the old man said the horse was too old, so he would take it to the market to sell or exchange it for something. The old woman believed that whatever her husband did what was always right.
So, the old man rode off to the market on the horse. On the way, he saw a man leading a cow so he exchanged the horse for the cow. ‘There will be milk for us,’ he thought. But he had set off for the market, so he decided to go there anyway.
On the way, a man was leading a sheep. The old man thought the sheep would provide wool for him and his wife in winter. He asked the man and exchanged the cow for a sheep, thinking they would have wool in winter.
Then he found a goose being carried by a man. ‘That will be good to eat!’ thought the old man. He exchanged the sheep for the goose. Sometime later, he saw a man carrying a hen. ‘Eggs!’ he thought. He exchanged the goose for the hen. ‘We’ll have fresh eggs,’ he thought.
Then he saw a man carrying a basket of rotten apples. A whole basket in exchange for a hen! The old man thought it was a great idea. He exchanged his hen for the basket!
In the town, he went to an inn. There, he narrated the whole story to the innkeeper. The innkeeper thought the old man had been very foolish. All that he would carry home to his wife would be a basket full of rotten apples.
“I bet you will get into trouble with your wife,” laughed the innkeeper.
The old farmer told the innkeeper that he was sure that his wife would think he was right as always. The innkeeper said he would give him a bag of gold coins if the farmer’s wife thought her husband was right. The old farmer accepted the challenge.
They both got into the innkeeper’s cart and went to the old man’s cottage. The old man carried the basket of rotten apples and the innkeeper took along a bag of gold coins.
When they got to the cottage, the old man once again narrated the story of the exchange of his horse to his wife. She smiled happily as she heard about each decision he had taken. She said, “I know you will always do what is right!”
“I went to the schoolmaster’s wife to borrow some herbs,” she added, “and she said she didn’t have even a rotten apple to lend me! Now I’ll give her all the rotten apples! I knew you will always be right!” said the old woman giving him a hug and a kiss.
The innkeeper was astonished at her reaction, but he knew he had lost the bet. So, he gave the bag of gold to the old man. The old couple now had enough money to live comfortably ever after.
