Fables: The Devoted Widow
A widow weeping on her husband's grave was approached by an Engaging
Gentleman who, in a respectful manner, assured her that he had long entertained for
her the most tender feelings.
"Wretch!" cried the Widow. "Leave me this instant! Is this a time to talk to me of
love?"
"I assure you, madam, that I had not intended to disclose my affection," the
Engaging Gentleman humbly explained, "but the power of your beauty has overcome
my discretion."
"You should see me when I have not been crying," said the Widow.
Fables: The Crimson Candle
A man lying at the point of death called his wife to his bedside and said:
"I am about to leave you forever; give me, therefore, one last proof of your
affection and fidelity, for, according to our holy religion, a married man seeking
admittance at the gate of Heaven is required to swear that he has never defiled himself
with an unworthy woman. In my desk you will find a crimson candle, which has been
blessed by the High Priest and has a peculiar mystical significance. Swear to me that
while it is in existence you will not remarry."
The Woman swore and the Man died. At the funeral the Woman stood at the
head of the bier, holding a lighted crimson candle till it was wasted entirely away.
Franz Kafka
A Little Fable
"Alas," said the mouse, "the whole world is growing smaller every day. At the
beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad
when I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so
quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap
that I must run into."
"You only need to change your direction," said the cat, and ate it up.