The old man and the old woman as a marital guide"The old man and the old woman", a retelling of a Native American myth by Chewing Blackbones, a black-footed Indian , should serve as a lesson to all couples on how a good relationship works. In today's society there is a great need for people to understand how to ensure the success of their relationships. As the divorce rate increases every year; young children have started to think that divorce is something normal and expected. This story shows how to solve problems with a give-and-take approach where you compromise, but still stand up for yourself when you believe your beliefs cannot be compromised. The Old Man and the Old Woman agree on some rules from the beginning. It is important for couples to agree on some points when starting a relationship. Problems may arise later if certain ideals and standards of behavior are not established from the beginning. The man and woman in the story agree that the man will have the first say in all decisions and the woman will have the second. For couples in today's society the ideals that are established are more likely to do with religion, the number of children a couple wants to have, or who should work in the family. Establishing these principles will help couples stay together longer and also be happier. Although the Old Man and the Old Woman agreed, from the beginning, that the man should have the first say and the woman the second, both had the same role in decisions. . As they discussed the duty of tanning the hides, the man said, "the women will have the duty... they will rub the brains of the animals on the hides to make them soft, and they will scrape them with scraping tools. They will do all this very quickly, because it will not be a hard work" (539). The woman did not completely agree with the man's ideas on how to do it. The woman suggested: "they must tan the hides as you say; but it must be very hard work, so that good workers can be found" (539). The Old Man and the Old Woman used a compromise to make this decision. Although the woman had the final say, she accepted part of the original idea of ​​the man, also adding some personal contributions.