There was once a young, newly-wed couple. The young man was intelligent, but his wife was both clumsy and stupid. She rarely touched an object without damaging it.
One day, having bought two earthenware jars, she showed them to her husband, hoping he would be pleased with her for once in his life.
"This is a chance to teach her a lesson," the young man said to himself. "It's too bad for the new jars, but at least she will be cured of her habit of breaking things."
And right away, he gave the jars two good kicks which shattered them to smithereens.
"What have you done? Are you mad?" shouted his wife in bewilderment.
"I've smashed them to save you the trouble of breaking them later," retorted the husband.
Some time after that even, the husband told his wife to go to market to buy fish for supper.
Back from market, she showed her husband a live fish of the best kind. Then she went to the pond at the back of the house, and there she let it go.
"What have you done, you stupid woman?" shouted the husband angrily.
"Only what you taught me. I've released it to save you the trouble of freeing it later!"
A few days later, they received the news that an octogenarian relative, a retired mandarin whom they had not seen for a long time, would honour them with a visit.
"Do you know how you should talk to elderly and titled people, scatter-brain? " asked the husband.
"No, teach me," replied the wife.
"For such respectable old men, you must be polite. You speak only when they speak to you. If they ask about your family, you must also ask them news of theirs. In a word, you must return their courtesy and even outdo them. When our uncle comes. I'll pretend to be absent for a while, and will let you talk to him alone for haft an hour. But be careful, I'll hide behind the curtain and listen to every word you say."
The venerable visitor arrived. And here is the bout of politeness which took place between him and the young mistress of the house.
"I'm happy to see you, my dear nice! How you have grown in the years since I last saw you. I remember knowing you when you were very little, no taller than a boot."
"I'm very happy to see you too, great uncle. You have grown several feet since I last saw you. I remember knowing you as a little kid, when you were no taller than my knee."
"How are your grandparents? They were good friends of mine."
"They're very well, thank you. And by the way, how are your forbears? They were great childhood friends of mine."
Thinking that this hare-brained young woman was trying to make a fool of him, the old mandarin asked wrathfully"
"Where's your husband? Let me see him at once!"
"He's over there, behind the curtain. He's been listening to make sure I know how to talk to you as he advised me to."