Fables for the Fair/Fable 9
THE WOMAN WHO WAS TOO DISINTERESTED
THE WOMAN WHO WAS TOO DISINTERESTED
THERE was once a Woman whose Fiancé Evinced an Interest in Somebody Else. To this she Paid No Attention.
Said she, "I shall Not Place a Straw in his Way! he must Act as his Conscience Dictates."
"He is much More Likely," said her Friends, "to Act as the Other Woman Dictates unless you Take some Trouble to Prevent It. Although he is really Fonder of You."
"Then there is No Occasion for my Taking any Trouble," said she. "I rely on my own Fidelity and the Support of a Good Conscience."
Later her Fiancé assured her that He was Unworthy of Her, and Still Later he Married the Other Woman.
Nor did she Win even the Pity of Her Friends, because they Considered that she had Brought it On Herself.
This teaches us that Virtue is its Only Reward.