Three couples sat around a table.

What was to become a dinner party

Soon became a fable.

Each brought their favorite beverage to share.

One by one, the husbands would hear

The best life lessons their fathers had taught.

While on the other side of the table,

the wives, somewhat distraught,

offered tight-lipped what they had learned.

Husband number one proudly exclaimed the value of food earned.

“My dad said, “if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day,

but if you teach him to fish, he will eat always.”

His wife gently added, “He forgot to teach you

to clean the fish, so your wife wouldn’t throw them away.”

Husband number two cautiously looked at his wife,

before offering his fix-it lessons on life.

“Careful,” she said. “It could be a long time before bed.”

He wisely passed the torch to his friend.

The virtues of farming were the next husband’s wisdom lend.

“Grow it yourself, eat from your land.”

“Ah yes, he was right if you pay your hired hand.

and make sure it’s ready to put in a pan.”

“Now, Ladies, be fair.

If it weren’t for us, you’d not have a care.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” the wives offered their joke.

“If it weren’t for stores, you wouldn’t be broke.”

The moral of the story is to work as a team.

Don’t make life harder for those you esteem.