know, he ran to the king's servants and told them how he had found the ring and, not knowing whose it was, had sold it to a woman named Jenny. The king's servants searched everywhere for Jenny, but no one knew where she was. She had hid, hoping to figure out a way to keep the ring. Not being able to find her, King Eric’s servants said that the king will offer to marry any woman who could bring back his ring. No one in town had been told why the servants were searching for Jenny. There was confusion while the women searched every corner of the town. Soon Jenny came walking proudly into King Eric’s castle. "I know where the ring is," she said, "I have it." Eric asked for his ring, and she pulled it from her beard. All the servants figured out what she had done. The men-servants were shocked, but the women-servants, also proud of their beards, were amused at how Jenny had fooled the searchers. Eric sent all the women, including Jenny, out of his sight and discussed Jenny’s punishment with the men-servants. They said that the women were so full of themselves because of their beards. Jenny believed she had power over King Eric and she could trick him into marrying her. At first the angry king wanted to have Jenny put to death, but he was smart enough to wait till he had calmed down. After he settled down, he gave a different order instead. "Have the beards of all the women shaved. Have every bit scraped from their faces, even the faces of my wives and daughters. For their beards are full of evil. We know of a paste that will cause hair not to grow. Have it be put on the jaws of all women, so that no girl or woman will ever again grow beards to play men with." Since then, women have not grown beards. ...
