No one knows the name of the village. No one knows the name of that old woman either. No one even knows when this incident took place. Yet everyone knows—a mother is the greatest treasure, and no one is greater than a mother.
In that nameless village, the old woman had only one son and his wife. The old woman loved her son dearly, and the son loved his mother too. But the daughter-in-law didn’t like this at all. She often wondered—why doesn’t the old woman just die, then they could live happily.
The old woman was simple and naive. She never noticed her daughter-in-law’s behavior. One day, she had a strong craving to eat the head of a rui (rohu) fish. Try as she might, she couldn’t suppress the urge. Finally, swallowing her pride, she said to her daughter-in-law,
> “Dear, I’ve been craving a rohu fish head for days. Could you give me one someday?”
The daughter-in-law burned with anger inside. Though she said nothing aloud, she would never give the fish head to the old woman. She served it to her husband instead. Every day the old woman hoped—maybe today she would get the head. But each time the daughter-in-law would say, “Oh! I forgot, Ma.”
Eventually, the son overheard his mother’s wish and asked her about it. But the old woman stayed silent—she didn’t want to hurt her son. This made the son even more curious. When he asked his wife, she whispered:
> “Your mother wants to get married again.”
The son was stunned.
The next day, the son took his mother into the forest. The old woman, unaware of anything, quietly followed her son. Dark clouds loomed overhead, and soon it began to rain heavily. The old woman was getting drenched. But still, she cried out to God,
> “Oh Lord, please stop the rain! My son will get soaked. Oh clouds, oh lightning—please don’t fall now.”
From behind a tree, the son kept listening. The more he heard, the more his eyes filled with tears. Still, he remained hidden.
The old woman continued praying,
> “I only wanted to eat the head of a rohu fish. That’s why my son had to bring me to this forest. Now, if he catches a cold in this storm, he’ll fall ill. Oh rain, oh clouds, oh thunder god—please wait a while. Let my son reach home safely, then you may continue.”
The son could no longer hide. He came out and said,
> “Ma, tell me the truth—what’s all this about? Fish head, the forest—what really happened?”
With tears in her eyes, the mother replied,
> “It’s shameful to say, my child. I’m old now, and maybe I’ve become greedy. I had a craving for a fish head, so I told your wife. Every day I reminded her gently before meals, but she would just say, ‘Oh, I forgot, Ma.’”
Now the son understood everything. He realized the wickedness of his wife. He took his mother home. Then, he gave his wife a few slaps and drove her out of the house. That wicked daughter-in-law, whose name no one remembers, walked away crying along the road.