If your wife is careless, just buy some ducks

I heard a piece of advice today. It is traditional African advice passed
down from generations ago.

"If your wife gets careless in the home with her duties, you don't have
to confront her with her problems. Just raise some ducks. Her problems
will go away."

While that may sound funny and illogical, it is true. Follow this logic,
as explained to me by our guard Yague earlier today.

It all started with the question whether a Christian should raise
unclean animals such as pigs or ducks. After we discussed that for a
while, he told me why he plans to keep his ducks even though he recently
was baptized as a Christian.

If your wife is careless and leaves water or food she is preparing on
the ground, it is likely to get dirty as sand and dirt is kicked up when
people and animals walk by. If you buy a pair of ducks and raise them at
home, your wife will quickly learn that the ducks will spoil and soil
anything clean left on the ground level. The first time the duck eats
from or puts his muddy feet in the family bowl of sauce, her lesson will
be learned and she will put food and water up high, out of reach of the
animals. You don't even have to talk to her. She will automatically
correct her problem.

So there you have it. An interesting piece of advice. Yague says that he
has a good wife. She keeps all food and water up high on a table or
shelf. He plans to keep his ducks.

Though the advice might seem good to Chadians, I don't plan to get any
ducks. I have a very fine wife who knows how to manage a kitchen without
ducks.