The foolish bride

This story is funnier than the funniest. There was a young girl and a young boy whose parents were trying to arrange for them to get married. The young girl was very talkative. She talked sixteen to the dozen, and she was foolish at the same time. The boy was very timid and, at the same time, very foolish. So, one was timid and foolish, and the other was talkative and foolish.

The boy's friends advised him to go and see the girl beforehand. They said that it is good to see for oneself; otherwise, sometimes parents make serious mistakes. So the bridegroom asked to be invited to the bride's place.

The mother of the bride said to the girl, "Please, please, listen to me. You talk too much. If he hears you talking too much, he may give up the idea of marrying you. So be careful."

The daughter asked, "Mother, what shall I do?"

The mother said, "When you see him approaching our house, put a betel leaf inside your mouth. Then when he enters into the house, you will start chewing it."

When the young girl saw the bridegroom approaching, she said, "Mother, he is coming, he is coming!" Then she put the betel leaf inside her mouth. When the young man entered the house, right in front of him she said to her mother, "Mother, I have put the leaf inside my mouth. Now shall I start chewing?"

The mother was extremely embarrassed. The girl started chewing. She did not even greet her future husband. The young fellow observed her behaviour, and he was very uncomfortable. He thought to himself, "Why do I have to marry this kind of person? She is so foolish!"

A few minutes later, he stood up and ran away. He was foolish, but not as foolish as the girl. So he did not marry her.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The jackal’s punishment, Agni Press, 2002
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/jp