How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins
How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins is a Sri Lankan fairy tale collected by H. Parker in Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon.[1]
It is Aarne–Thompson type 982, Ungrateful Heirs.[1]
Synopsis[]
A man marries a rich woman who did not help his mother. He gives his mother a bag full of pottery shards. The mother contracts leprosy, but since she shakes the bags where the daughter-in-law can hear and announces that whoever cares for it will have, the daughter-in-law tends her. After the mother dies, the woman realizes it was shards, not coins.
Variants[]
The tale is widespread, with many ways to trick the heirs into thinking there is wealth to be had.[1]
References[]
Categories:
- Asian fairy tales
- Sri Lankan literature