What Does a Women Desire
One day, the King of Kalinga was engaging in pleasant conversation with his wife in the royal garden. The Queen raised an intriguing query, “Oh! King, can you tell me what a woman desires most?”
The King’s Guesses
The King replied with certainty, “Oh! That’s easy. Jewels, of course!” The Queen quickly dismissed this assumption. The King went on to suggest lovely dresses, flowers, palaces, money, and a host of other material riches. In response to each guess, the Queen vehemently shook her head.
Finally, the King expressed, “Very well. I shall not rest until I’ve learned the answer to your question.”
The King’s Challenge
Driven by the desire to find an answer, he issued a royal decree, announcing a reward of a thousand gold pieces to anyone who could provide the answer to the Queen’s query. However, any incorrect answers were warned of severe punishment. Despite the tempting reward, the fear of the unknown punishment deterred the citizens from attempting to answer the King’s question.
The Pigeon Proclamation
Observing the citizens’ reluctance, the King made a second proclamation. He proposed to release a Pigeon into the air. The resident of the house on which the Pigeon would land, would be obliged to answer the question or forfeit their life. This new directive induced general uneasiness and anxiety across the city as they wondered whose luck would elicit the Pigeon’s landing. After the Pigeon found respite on a humble fisherman’s dwelling, the fisherman’s young son was brought before the King and given fifteen days to find the answer.
The Queer Query Answered
Despite the looming danger, no answer was found even as the final day approached. The young lad prepared to meet his fate bravely when an elderly woman visited his home. On learning about the Queen’s query, she revealed the simple yet profound answer, “Every woman desires that her husband will always do what she tells him.” The fisherman’s son sprinted to the King with the answer.
“Your Majesty, every woman wants her husband to do exactly as she tells him,” the lad answered. Upon the Queen’s confirmation of the answer, the King, finally satisfied, rewarded the fisherman’s son extravagantly and sent him home laden with presents.