A Cure for Story-Telling
A porter struggles with his wife's obsession for storytelling, which burdens him financially due to the constant need for entertaining guests who can narrate tales. Seeking a solution, he invites a freezing old man into their home, who agrees to tell stories on the condition that the wife remains silent and does not interrupt. As the night progresses, the old man begins his tale, repeating the same line about an owl drinking from a well. The wife, unable to contain herself, interrupts, questioning the story's substance. The old man insists that her interruption prevents him from continuing, leading the porter to chastise his wife for her lack of patience. In a fit of anger, he physically punishes her for disrupting the storytelling. Ultimately, the relentless repetition and the ensuing punishment lead the wife to develop a deep aversion to stories, resulting in her despair whenever tales are mentioned. The narrative explores themes of obsession, the consequences of communication breakdown, and the extremes one might go to in order to change another's behavior.
By Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev · First published 1820 · Genre: Fable, Satire, Folklore · 533 words
First lines
There was once a porter in the world: he had a wife who was passionately fond of stories, and she would only let people come and visit her who could tell stories. Well, as you may understand, this was rather costly to the husband. So he began to think, "How can I cure her of this undesirable habit?"
Well, one day in the winter, late at night, an old man came in frozen to atoms, and he asked to be allowed to stop the night. So the husband ran out to him and said, "Can you tell tales?"
What this Textopian page supports
A Cure for Story-Telling is listed on Textopian as a short story by Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev, dated 1820 CE.
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- Work type: Short story
- Author: Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev
- Date: 1820 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Fable, Satire, Folklore, Comedy, Fantasy
- Length: 533 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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Genres
- Fable — The story conveys a moral lesson about the consequences of obsession with storytelling.
- Satire — It critiques the nature of storytelling and the absurdity of excessive narrative repetition.
- Folklore — The narrative style and elements reflect traditional storytelling found in folklore.
- Comedy — The humorous situation of the wife's obsession and the husband's extreme reaction adds comedic elements.
Tags
Folklore · Russian Literature · Short Stories · Anthology · Cultural Heritage · Oral Tradition · Storytelling · Mythology · Legends · Fairy Tales · Historical Fiction · Social Commentary