Far from the Madding Crowd Boldwood, not realising the valentine was a jest, becomes obsessed with Bathsheba and soon proposes marriage. Although she does not love him, she toys with the idea of accepting his offer; he is, after all, the most eligible bachelor in the district. However, she postpones giving him a definite answer. When Gabriel rebukes her for her thoughtlessness regarding Boldwood, she dismisses him. When Bathsheba's sheep begin dying from bloat, she discovers to her chagrin that Gabriel is the only man who knows how to cure them. Her pride delays the inevitable, but finally she is forced to beg him for
The King Who Would Have a Beautiful Wife variants, that she had had herself skinned, and a new one had grown in its place. The sister went to get the same treatment from a barber, and died. The King Who Would Have a Beautiful Wife The King who would have a Beautiful Wife or The King Who Wanted a Beautiful Wife is an Italian fairy tale collected by Laura Gonzenbach in "Sicilianische Märchen". Thomas Crane included in his "Italian Popular Tales", and Andrew Lang, in "The Pink Fairy Book". Italo Calvino included a variant The Three Crones, from Venice, in "Italian Folktales". A king was determined to find