Section 171
The Man and his Two Sweethearts explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
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A Man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two Sweethearts, an old woman and a young one. The elder of the two didn't like having a lover who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to mak...
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Public-domain original
A Man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two Sweethearts,
an old woman and a young one. The elder of the two didn't like having
a lover who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came
to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to make
him look old. The younger, on the other hand, didn't like him to look
so much older than herself, and took every opportunity of pulling out
the grey hairs, to make him look young. Between them, they left not a
hair in his head, and he became perfectly bald.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A Man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two Sweethearts, an old woman and a young one.
Why this scene matters
This fable matters because it turns a common human habit into a short lesson about judgment and consequences.
Characters in this scene
- The Man: A figure in the fable whose choice helps reveal the lesson.
- his Two Sweethearts: A figure in the fable whose choice helps reveal the lesson.
Simple story version
A Man of middle age, whose hair was turning grey, had two Sweethearts, an old woman and a young one. The elder of the two didn't like having a lover who looked so much younger than herself; so, whenever he came to see her, she used to pull the dark hairs out of his head to make him look old.