Long, long ago in a land far, far away there lived a fair young maiden. Every
morning the maiden would rise with the sun, dress, and have breakfast. Then she
would go to her father's store where she sat at a table in front and sold her
wares. Down the street where it made a sharp turn sat a weary old man at a table
to sell his wares. He had a view down the street to where the maiden sat.
Now the maiden was forgetful when dressing and she usually left the top four
buttons of her blouse undone. The weary old man had to prop his head up with his
hand under his chin and his elbow on the table to stay awake. Day after day they
sat from sunup to sundown waiting for buyers.
One day the fair maiden's mother came by and noticed the weary old man at the
end of the street. She also noticed the unbuttoned blouse on the fair, young
maiden. She quickly reached down and buttoned her blouse all the way up to the
top and warned her daughter to be more careful when she dressed herself.
As the mother walked past the weary old man, without looking up he said, "I wish
you hadn't done that. The view was the only thing keeping me awake."
After the mother was gone the weary old man's eyes slowly closed, his elbow
slipped off the table and his head dropped to the table top. He slept there
until after the sun went down. When he woke he was alone in the dark with only
his dreams for company.