The ruler of an ancient kingdom wanted to disprove the claim that the men of his domain were ruled by their wives. He summoned all the males before him and warned that any man who did not tell the truth would be punished severely. Then he ordered all men who obeyed their wives' directions to step to the left side of the hall.
All the men did so—except for one little man who moved to the right.
"It is good to see," said the king, "that we have one real man in the kingdom. Tell these chicken-hearted dunces why you alone stand on the right side of the hall."
"Your Majesty," came the reply in a squealing voice, "it is because before I left home, my wife told me to keep out of crowds."