"It's good to see," said the king, "that we have one real man in the kingdom. Tell these chicken-hearted men why you alone among them stand on the right side of the hall."

In an ancient kingdom, all men were ruled by their wives. The king didn't believe it. In order to prove it was not true, the king had all the men of his kingdom brought before him. He warned that any man who did not tell the truth would be seriously punished.

"Your Majesty," came the reply in a weak voice, "it is because before I left home my wife told me to keep out of crowds. I don't dare to go against her."

Then he asked all the men who followed their wives' orders to step to the left side of the hall. All the men did so but one little man who moved to the right side.