From the author: The story is taken from life. The wife sent her husband to the market to buy carrots. She asked to buy 2 pieces the size of a palm (knowing that he would specify which carrots he needed). In a good mood, my husband went to the market. I found a stall with vegetables. I took a carrot, tried it on my palm - it fit, and began to look for another one of the same size. “Would you be so kind as to help me pick out another one like this?” He politely addressed the red-cheeked, matryoshka-like saleswoman. She smiled welcomingly, as required by market etiquette: “Of course, choose,” she pointed with her eyes at another box, thinking to herself: “What a handsome and friendly man.” The buyer, meanwhile, was diligently rummaging through the second box. Not finding the vegetable he needed, he asked to get the boxes that were on the floor. The smile left the “matryoshka”’s face, but she handed over the box. A queue formed near the stall, which soon began to wonder what the man was doing there for so long. Suggestions started pouring in: “Man, do you choose carrots for your wife so carefully in size?” “Yes, for her,” the man politely answered without being distracted from the matter and not noticing the sarcasm. “Do you yourself have uh... problems with this?” “The guy standing in line made a joke. “Take the whole box, you’ll figure it out at home,” someone else from the line said sarcastically. The man was sorting through the fourth box and didn’t pay attention to the jokes until the line burst into loud laughter. The first thing that came to his mind was that something was wrong with him, he began to examine himself from all sides: had he gotten dirty somewhere, had his jacket torn, had he forgotten to zip up his trousers... At that moment, someone... Then from the queue he burst out laughing: - Man, are you looking for a carrot according to the size of your dignity? Take the big one - you won't go wrong! After carrying the 6th box of carrots, the saleswoman's friendliness gave way to anger. The face turned purple, and the shape of the “matryoshka” swelled in size, it seemed that sparks were about to fall out of it: - Man, are you kidding me? Go to a sex shop to buy goods, don’t wait in line. Some kind of maniac! Perplexed and stunned by this turn of events, the carrot buyer, defending himself, told the saleswoman everything that came to his mind, calling her words that betrayed his emotions at that moment. The line came to her defense. He heard things about himself that he could not even think about before. The unfortunate man had no choice but to hastily retreat from the market without purchasing. On the way, he was terribly angry with his wife for the fact that this damn size of the vegetable was so important to her: “What difference does it make to her if she chops it up anyway? Yes, she just made fun of me! I’m not a man for her, but so... rag" - The completely enraged man came to the final conclusion. With acceleration, opening the door to the apartment, he heard: “Darling, did you buy carrots?” And then he burst out: “Are you kidding me?” Do you want to make a laughing stock out of me? Am I not the man for you? Why did fate reward me with you, fool!... My wife fell into a stupor for a while out of surprise. The husband's tirade continued until the wife's perception caught from what was said what particularly bothered her. - So I'm not like that to you? I'm fat right? You probably have someone? Admit it!...The husband managed to rush out of the house before his wife grabbed the pan with hot broth in her hands. He wandered aimlessly through the streets for a long time, more and more convincing himself that he was not a real man. And his wife, having sobbed a lot, had already begun to come to terms with the idea that he was staying with his mistress forever... By the way, carrots the length of her palm just went into her pan for cooking vegetables, but the woman had no idea whether her husband would buy larger or smaller carrots - she would have cut it. IF WE DO NOT CREATE OUR OWN REALITY, THEN EVEN A VEGETABLE CAN MANAGE IT FOR US. I leave it without comments on purpose - the thoughts of the readers are interesting. Thank you for your attention to the publication