Once upon a time there was a gentleman whose wife always wanted to be in charge of things. He told her that women always wanted to have the last word, which she subsequently denied.

Then the gentleman said, "I will prove I'm right."

He called his stable hand and asked to do him a favour.

"Take along a basket of apples and three horses: a white one, a black one, and a grey one. Go along the houses and ask people who's the boss there. If the woman is in charge, you give them two apples. If the man is in charge, he may choose one of the horses."

The stable hand went on his way, but everywhere he went, the wife appeared to be in charge, so he had to give away more and more apples.

Then he arrived at a farm where the man seemed to be grumpy and hot-tempered.

"Who is in charge over here?" the stable hand asked.

"I am," the farmer replied.

"Well," the stable hand said, "that's something else for a change. Please, follow me. From these three horses you may pick out one. You may decide for yourself."

The farmer chose the black horse and called it a splendid creature. Then his wife came along.

"Look, I chose the black one," the farmer said, "that's the most beautiful one."

"Oh dear, no," his wife said, "not the black one. The grey one is much more beautiful."

"No way!" the farmer replied, "these grey ones turn pale so soon."

Still, the farmer's wife insisted.

"I say, take the grey one," she said.

Finally, the farmer said to her, "Well, you decide then."

"The grey one," she said.

"The grey one," the farmer repeated to the stable hand.

"You can't have it," the stable hand said to him. "You told fne that you were in charge, but now I hear quite differently."

To the farmer's wife he said, "You are the boss."

"Yes," she agreed.

"I give you two apples."

The stable hand came home with three horses, but the basket of apples was completely empty.

So the gentleman was absolutely right!