Fish and Flowers

[Abhidevananda]

On their way home from market, some fishwives were caught in a storm
and took shelter in the house of a florist. The florist cordially
invited the women to pass the night in his house, offering them a room
where fragrant flowers had been kept.

The fishwives were pleased to accept the florist's kind offer but soon
found that they could not get to sleep due to the sweet scent in the
room.

Eventually, one of them suggested: "If we sprinkle a little water on
our fish baskets and keep them close to us, this may overcome the smell
of flowers that is spoiling our sleep." And that is what they did.
Soon, all the fishwives were sleeping soundly.