They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman
had a shoebox in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband
never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day, the
little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the
shoebox and took it to his wife's bedside.  She agreed that it was time that
he should know what was in the box.  When he opened it, he found two
crocheted doilies and a stack of money totaling $25,000.

He asked her about the contents.

"When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret
of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry
with you I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily."

The little old man was so moved, he had to fight back tears. Only two
precious doilies in the box.

She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and
loving.  He almost burst with happiness.  "Honey," he said, "that explains
the doilies, but what about all of this money?  Where did it come from?"

"Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the doilies."