Stepping backwards [Night watches, Part 5.]

A middle-aged man, persuaded by an eager friend, shaves off his white whiskers, cuts and dyes his hair, and has new teeth fitted to look much younger; the startling transformation baffles a pub barmaid and prompts the friend to warn the wife, whose disbelief and shock when the husband returns produce comic misunderstandings and domestic upheaval. The tale uses situational humor to probe vanity, the social currency of appearance, and the instability of personal identity within a long marriage, showing how a small, well-intentioned change can disrupt familiar roles and provoke exaggerated reactions from neighbors and acquaintances.