42. The Unfaithful Wife

42. THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE (73)

A man and his wife were living together in a certain place. Then the woman began going with another man, but her husband became suspicious. He investigated and found the place where they met. On his return he said to his wife, "I am going a great distance away, so stay at home until I come back." Then he set out. But he had lied to her, and watched around the place where they had been meeting. He climbed up into a tree that stood near by.

While he was sitting there he saw the woman coming. He remained where he was until he saw the man come to meet her. Both reached

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the place and sat under that tree. They talked together, but presently the woman looked up and saw her husband sitting in the tree. She said nothing but jumped up and ran away, and the man who had been talking with her did not know what caused her to run off. As he sat there he examined the place, but did not see anything which could have disturbed her. He did not know what was the matter. "Something must have stuck into her," he thought. He looked about the place thoroughly and felt of it, but there was nothing anywhere about. "She did this and then ran," he said. So he leaned back and he too saw her husband sitting in that tree. He saw that that was the reason why she ran away, and he did the same thing himself.

This is how it is told.