On the plains of an arid land lived a certain farmer with a small plot and only one child – a daughter. She was slightly past marrying age and the father despaired of ever seeing her wed - for she was spectacularly ugly. He had all but given up hope when, one day, a rich and handsome young man approached the village. His servants preceded him and soon the word was spread – he was looking for a wife. All the men of the village hurried to have their daughters prepared for him. Every eligible young woman was dressed in the finest robe her family owned, her hair freshly oiled and her face brilliantly painted for the presentation. All the jewelry each family owned adorned their bridal candidate.
When the poor farmer saw these activities he did not even bother to have his daughter wash her feet or change her robe. After all, no handsome young man would even consider such an ugly one as she. He was so ashamed, in fact, that he ordered her to remain in the hut to spare the embarrassment of having the young man laugh at him. He was curious, though, so the poor farmer crept to the edge of the crowd to watch the spectacle.
As he watched he saw each family approach the rich young man, proudly presenting their daughters. The crowd looked on in awe as he shook his head again and again. Some fathers wept at being turned away. Some begged and bargained. Some hung their heads in shame. Some walked away scolding the unworthy daughters. The poor farmer congratulated himself for wisely hiding his daughter.
When the last of the hopeful families had been turned away, the rich young man sadly shook his head and called a servant to his side. After a few moments of whispering, the servant circulated among the villagers talking to this one and that. The poor farmer inched closer to hear what was being said. Suddenly the eyes of the villagers turned to him and fingers pointed toward him and he found himself the center of attention. He realized in horror what they were saying. “Ask him. He has a daughter.” The tone of his neighbors was derisive and mocking.
Before he could run, the rich man’s servant took his arm and escorted him to his master. It seemed that he, too, would share in the village’s embarrassment for the young man asked to see his daughter. The servant was sent to fetch her from the hut. The father did not raise his eyes from the ground even as he heard his daughter approaching. If he had, he would have seen what he always saw – an ugly woman with dirty feet and an old, worn-out tunic. The young man, however, saw something quite different.
She walked into the center of the village with her head held high and her eyes clear. Her steps were steady and her face was serene. The crowd was astonished as the young man moved to meet her and took her hand. There was a gasp when he first bowed and then knelt before her.
The father, who had still not looked up, waited for his humiliation. He listened for laughter or even anger. He heard the young man’s voice and braced himself. He was not prepared, however, for what he heard. “She shall be my wife,” declared the rich and handsome young man.
The next events occurred in a blur for the farmer. As the villagers surged and engulfed the unlikely bride, he was dragged inside a hastily erected tent where he found himself face to face with the groom. Negotiations for the bride price brought the farmer to his senses as effectively as a splash of well water on his face and he began to calculate the best way to seize this unexpected opportunity. He would try to understand what this rich young man saw in his ugly daughter another day. For now, he focused only on the fact that for some unknown reason the man had rejected all the other young women and chosen his daughter and, therefore, might be willing to pay handsomely for her.
The highest bride price ever paid in his village had been twenty cows. But that woman was a great beauty and the farmer dared not hope for such wealth. He decided to ask for ten cows but would be quite pleased with five. A five-cow bride price was respectable and certainly more than his insufficient daughter was worth. Five cows would increase his standing in the community considerably. He cleared his throat, bowed his head respectfully toward the young man and croaked out the words, “I must have ten cows for my, um, most excellent daughter.”
His heart stilled in his chest as he waited for the response of the young man but quickly fell into his stomach when the young man leaped to his feet and began a tirade.
“How dare you insult me so?! Have you so little respect for me that you should demand such a price? Do you suggest that I would have a ten-cow wife?” The young man drew in a sharp breath and gathered his temper before going on. His fists clenching and unclenching as he struggled to regain his composure. The poor farmer hunched his shoulders in defeat. He had asked too much and, therefore, spoiled his good fortune. It was as it seemed – too good to be true. The young man in measured calm spoke again. “You shall have one…” there was a pause… “thousand cows for your daughter, for I deserve a thousand-cow wife. Now say goodbye to your ‘most excellent daughter.’ We shall leave immediately.”
The once poor now incredibly wealthy farmer wept and embraced his daughter and celebrated his unprecedented luck as she rode away on a camel, the young man attentively by her side. Over the next few months he became famous in the village and was often sought out for advice or for a retelling of the story of his wonderful daughter who had brought such honor to him.
Late one afternoon, about a year later, he was in the midst of explaining how he knew she would bring him luck even as a little child when he spied a large caravan heading toward the village.
As the entourage drew closer, he recognized his son-in-law out front and rushed to meet him. He fell on his knees to welcome the young man and then rose to scan the group for his daughter. He shaded his eyes from the slanting rays of the sun with his hand and looked to and fro. He could not find her. She was not there. In her place, was a different woman. And exotic beauty poised like a queen on the very camel his daughter had ridden away on.
All at once the farmer realized that his worst fear had come to pass. His daughter had proved to be unworthy after all, just as he had always known, and the young man had put her aside for this beautiful woman. And, even worse, he had come to reclaim his bride price. He was here to take back the thousand cows that had changed the farmer’s life so drastically. But the farmer was a shrewd man and had prepared for this moment from the very hour his daughter had left. He was ready and launched into his rehearsed diatribe.
“Where is my excellent daughter? She is not among your group! I demand to know what you have done with her!” The farmer felt sufficiently outraged and he pointed into the young man’s face for emphasis. “I knew I should not have let her marry you. You are unworthy of such a fine woman as my daughter. Where is she and who is this one who has taken her place? I demand an answer!”
There, thought the farmer. He won’t have the nerve to ask for his cattle back after my indignant stance. He will let me keep them so I won’t make trouble for him and damage his reputation with his new wife.
“Old Father,” the young man soothed, “she is here. Do you not recognize her?” The farmer again searched the group, his eyes lingering among the servants. So, he had kept her on a servant when she proved unsuitable as a wife. Now, which one was she? Surely she had not changed so much in the space of a year.
The young man assisted the new woman to the ground and held her arm as they approached. A soft voice interrupted the farmer’s search for a familiar face. “Father.” It was the wife – the beautiful woman – who spoke. He turned toward her, squinted his eyes and concentrated on the face intently. A jolt of recognition came as their eyes locked. It was she. He had not recognized his own daughter, but who could blame him for she was completely transformed. Her eyes were still clear and her head still high but she was neither barefoot nor clothed in rags anymore. She wore silk robes and leather sandals. There were jewels, too, and an elaborate hairstyle, but the most significant difference was the face. She was regal, she was radiant… she was... beautiful. The father turned his bewildered face to the young man and his question came out as a whisper, “How?”
A smile crossed the young man’s lips and a gaze of pride swept over his treasured one. “It is quite simple, you see. I treated her as a thousand-cow wife… and she became one.”
Author's note: This in no way equates women to cows - it is but a simple tall-tale to exemplify the life-changing power of value and respect offered by the Bridegroom who gave so much more than a thousand cows - the cattle on a thousand hills even - to redeem His beloved Bride.
(This fable is loosely based on the Caribbean tale of a man who pays 8 cows for his wife - The Legend of Johnny Lingo.)
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