A man went to a rural village to look for a wife. For a very plain and ordinary village girl, he paid 12 cows for her hand in marriage. When his friends heard of it, they were shocked and told him he had paid way too much, just 1 cow was enough.

He said, "I know that 1 cow is the price of a wife, but the wife I want is 1 that is worth 12 cows, not 1."