The Eternal Eve

Saved all these years and found amongst my Dad's papers -
Food for Thought...

THE ETERNAL EVE

"In the beginning of time, says an old legend from the Sanskrit, the god Tvashtri created the world. Out of the elements he created the sun and moon and stars, the hills and forests, and finally man himself.

All the solid elements were exhausted in the creation of man. So, when the time came to fashion woman, Tvashtri took the roundness of the moon, the curves of the creepers, the clinging of the tendrils, the trembling of the grass, the slenderness of the reed, the velvet of the flower, the lightness of the leaf, the quick glance of the fawn, the brightness of the sun's rays, the tears of the mist, the inconisitency of the wind, the timidity of the hare, the vanity of the peacock, the softness of the down, the hardness of diamonds, the sweet of honey, the cruelty of the tiger, the warmth of the fire, the chill of the snow, the chatter of the jay, the cooing of the dove.

All these he combined to make woman. And he gave her to man. And the man's days were filled with happiness, for now he had someone to share with him the pleasures of the world.

In the course of time, however, the man came to Tvashtri saying, "Lord, this creature that you have given me makes my life miserable. She chatters incessantly and teases me beyond endurance, never leaving me alone. She requires incessant attention and cries about nothing and is always idle, so I have come to give her back again. I cannot live with her."

So Tvashtri took her back. But eight days later, the man was at Tvashtri's door. "Lord," he said, "my life is lonely since the woman has gone. I remember how she danced with me, and laughed, and filled my heart with pleasure. I remember how she clung to me, and how sweet and comforting was her presence when the sun went down, and the darkness surrounded me."

So Tvashtri returned the woman, but a month later the man importuned him. "My Lord," he said, "I cannot understand it, but I am sure the woman causes me more annoyance than pleasure. I beg you, Tvashtri, to take her away again."

"Go you way and do the best you can," Tvashtri answered.

"But I cannot live with her," the man protested.

"Neither," said the god, "can you live without her."

By Lewis Hill Reader's Digest November 1972 p 163