How God Created Woman... A Legend from India

In the beginning, when Twashtri (a Hindu god) wished to create woman, he found that his materials had been worn out in the making of man, and no solid stuff remained to him. In this perplexity, and after long thought, he decided to take the roundness of the full moon, and the coiling of the serpent, and the trembling of the grasses, and the slenderness of the reed, and the opening of the flowers, and the lightness of the breezes, and the hugeness of the elephant, and the glances of the gazelle, and the gaiety of the sunlight, and the weeping of the clouds, and the fury of the winds, and the cowardice of the hare, and the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrot's breast, and the hardness of the diamond, and the sweetness of honey, and the ferocity of the tiger, and the heat of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of the parrot, and the faithfulness of the dog;

And he mixed all these together and made woman, and then presented her to the man — who came back after a week and said:

My lord, this creature you have given me makes my life a misery: she troubles me with her chatter, and never leaves me to myself for a single minute; she would have me think of nothing but her... She weeps without cause, and laughs when it pleases her; and so I have come to return her to you with thanks, for I cannot live with her... And Twashtri said: "Leave her... very well!.."

And after a week the man came back, saying: I have felt a cruel loneliness since I returned this creature to you; for I remember how she used to dance and sing, and look at me out of the corner of her eye, and play with me, and frolic; her laugh was the pealing of music, and the touch of her fingertips like the whisperings of spirits; and so I beg you to return her to me... And Twashtri answered him: Very well, take her. And after three days the man came back to him, saying: My lord, I know what my standing with you is now; but I cannot bear her; she brings torment and misery. But Twashtri answered angrily: Get out of here; I will accept no more of this bargaining; manage the matter as it pleases you — you cannot live with her, and you cannot live without her. Then he turned his back on the man and went on with his work; and the man went away, repeating the god's last words: What am I to do... I cannot live with her... nor without her!...