Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 2 1884.djvu/315

Rh replied, "I want not to be troubled with family cares, so I'll e'en watch over you now, and after your death I'll turn monk." The mother did not make her son change his mind, nor gain his consent, without much importunity. At last her wish was gratified by her son's bringing home a wife, who, like himself, was respectably connected, and the old mother continued to live with her son and daughter-in-law. The young wife (not quite satisfied with this arrangement) bethought herself, "My spouse is very attentive to his mother, so (to humour him) I'll wait zealously upon her."

The husband was much pleased with his wife's behaviour and zealous attention to his mother, and brought her also numerous little dainties and delicacies as marks of his approval. Then she said to herself, "My husband keeps a good table both for me and his mother; I expect he finds this expensive and must be anxious indeed to get rid of the old dame; I'll devise some means to make her leave the house." Bent upon this she said to her spouse, "Husband, when you are away your mother abuses me." To this he made no reply. "I'll stir up this old woman," quoth she, "and make her disagreeable to her son." From that time forth when she fed her mother-in-law she gave her the gruel too hot or too cold, with too much salt or none at all in it. "My dear," said the old lady, "you've made it too hot and too salty." Then the other fills up the bowl with cold water. "Now it's too cold and not salt enough!" she cries. Again an alteration is made. "It's too hot and too salty now," says she. She made a great noise (about it when her son came home), saying, "Who on earth will have the patience to put up with such a careless creature?"

Another time the naughty young wife made the bath-water too hot, and poured it down the old mother's back. "You've scalded my back, child!" she cried. Then the other added cold water. "Now you've made it too cold," says she. "Oh, what are you about?" she cries; "it's too hot now." Again she shrieked out, "You nasty thing! now you've made it icy cold." Whereat she asks her neighbours whether any one but herself would put up with such disrespectful treatment.

On another occasion the mother-in-law complains that her bed swarms with fleas, whereupon the other brings out the bed and beats her own over it (and sends another lot of fleas into it, and so increases