He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princesses, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.

Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer. But the price would be high - the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first. The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!

Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made disgusting noises, and so on. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life. He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden.

But when Lancelot heard of the witch's proposal, he told Arthur that there was no sacrifice too big compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table. Hence, the wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus.

"What a woman really wants," she answered, "is to be in charge of her own life." Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.

And so it was that the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch were married.

When the honeymoon hour approached, Lancelot steeled himself for a horrific experience and entered the bedroom. But what a sight awaited him! The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened. The woman replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth be her horrible, deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half. Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day? Or during the night?

Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy intimate moments?

What would you decide?

Noble Lancelot said that he would allow her to make the choice herself. And, on hearing this, the witch announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

So what's the moral to this story? If you don't let a woman have her own way, then things are going to get ugly.