This Negro tale is especially popular in southern Tennessee.
When God made man and woman, he placed them together in the same house. A man and a woman were equal in strength, and if they started a fight, it always ended in a draw.
One day the man decided: “I need to go talk to God. I’m tired of fighting a woman I can’t overcome.”
And he went to heaven and appeared before God.
“Lord,” said the man, “no one will help a man except you.” You know how to light up the stars in the sky, so do me a favor. I ask you, Lord, give me more strength so that I can overcome the woman. You won’t come down from heaven to earth every time to establish peace between us. Give me more strength and I will put things in order myself. At least just a little!
“Okay,” said God, “from now on you will be stronger than a woman.”
And the man ran from the sky straight home. He barely reached the house when he shouted:
- Woman, now I am your master! God has given me strength, and now you must obey me!
The woman began to fight him, but he overpowered her. She
tried again, and again he overpowered her. And for the third time he defeated her.
The man became very proud.
“Behave yourself, or I’ll give you a hard time!” The woman was seriously angry.
- We'll see about that later! - she said. And the next day she herself went to God.
- Lord, I ask you, add strength to me, at least a little.
“You have received all the power in full,” said God. “And I already gave the man a supplement.”
- How so? After all, now he can easily defeat me, but before he could not. I ask you, Lord, give me the same amount as him, or take away the extra from him.
“What I gave, I don’t take back.” You'll have to come to terms with this.
And the woman went home very angry. On the way, she met the devil and told him what trouble she had.
“Listen to me, and everything will turn out for the better,” said the devil. - Smooth out the wrinkles, don’t frown, but rather turn around and return to God. Ask him for the keys that hang on the nail near the door. Then come to me with them, and I will teach you what to do.
And the woman returned to heaven again.
“Woman,” said God, already beginning to get angry, “what else do you need?”
- Oh my God! Ruler of the rainbow and the heavens and all the stars of heaven!
“I’m asking, woman, what do you want?”
- Give me the keys from that nail!
- Take it and don’t bother me anymore!
The woman took the keys and ran towards the devil.
- So, then you received the three treasured keys? - said the devil.
“Yes, here they are,” said the woman.
“These three keys,” said the devil, “if you use them correctly, will bring you more power and strength than a man has and will ever have.” The first key you use is to lock the kitchen door. Men think about food first. Second key for the bedroom. Lock her up. A man will be unhappy if he is not allowed into the bedroom. He loves to sleep. And the third and last key is for the room where you rock your baby's cradle. Lock her up too. Men are attached to their children; they want to see how their offspring grow. Take your keys and go home now.
And the devil added:
- Remember: do not unlock the door until a man learns to use his power according to your instructions and to your joy.
The woman ran home and did everything as she was told. Returning home, the man found her on the doorstep. Swaying, she sang:
Take this tree and hollow out a cradle.
When the man discovered that the three doors, which were always wide open, were now suddenly locked, he boiled with anger, like water in puddles in the sun.
At first he tried to knock them out, relying on his strength. He failed and shouted:
-Who locked these doors, woman? Where did the keys come from?
- The Lord God gave them to me.
- Oh, I won't stand for this! - he screamed and ran towards God.
“The woman locked food, and my child, and my bed from me. She said you gave her the keys.
- Yes, I am. She asked me for them, and the devil taught her how to use them.
- God! Give me the keys too so I can unlock these doors.
“I can’t do this,” God said to the man. - What I gave, I gave. I gave the woman the keys and let the keys
she will have them. You must go and ask a woman to open the door for you herself.
The man returned home, but he couldn’t get the woman to unlock the door, no matter how hard he tried. Then he asked her, he begged her for a long time and did whatever she wanted, and finally she unlocked the doors.
But this seemed not enough to the man. He told the woman:
- Let's share! You will give me half of the keys, and I will give you half of my power.
“Well, I need to think,” the woman said. She sat down and began to think. At this time, the devil looked into her window.
- Don't agree, woman! - he whispered. - Let him have the power, and let you have the keys. Remember once and for all: when autumn flies fly, a cow cannot do without a tail!
And the deal did not take place.
Since then, a man has to restrain his strength if he wants to get along with a woman.
That's why a man gives in and a woman stands her ground.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru