Moderators beware. I think that this may be teaching, but I'll take a chance.
Indiana Bob
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JOHNNY LINGO’S EIGHT-COW WIFE
(Original © Patricia McGerr, 1965)
Johnny Lingo was strong, handsome, intelligent, and resourceful, but when he chose a wife the people shook their heads in disbelief. The woman Johnny chose was plain and skinny. She was hesitant and shy, and walked with her shoulders hunched and her head down. But Johnny loved her.
Most surprising to everyone was Johnny’s offer. In their island country a wife was purchased by giving her father cows in payment. The normal asking price was four cows; five or six if the woman was especially beautiful. The villagers thought Johnny might pay two or three cows at the most. But he paid eight cows for her!
Several months after the wedding Johnny’s bride had transformed into a beautiful, poised, and confident woman. When asked about the transformation, Johnny Lingo responded, “I wanted an eight-cow wife, and when I paid that for her, and treated her in that fashion, she discovered she was worth more than any other woman in the islands. And what matters most is what a woman thinks of herself.”