An old woman more cunning than the devil

An old woman more cunning than the devil

One morning, the devil Iblis was sitting at the corner of a road, silently looking at a thriving silk shop opposite him.

A wizened old woman came up with difficulty and asked him why he was so sullen.

Iblis, said: "I have always succeeded in sowing discord among relatives and friends, and I have also succeeded in destroying many happy families. However, no matter how hard I try, I can't destroy the happiness of the boss. He and his wife have always been as close as Yan Er's newlyweds."

The old woman said, "You may have done your bit. Come here again tonight, and I'll show you how I succeeded where you failed miserably."

After speaking, the old woman turned around and went home. She dressed herself up as a rich lady with status, changed into a gorgeous dress. Then, she walked to the thriving silk shop opposite.

The owner of the store concluded at a glance that she was a worthy customer, and hurriedly greeted her with a smile. She took the cigarette he had lit for her in style, leaned back slowly, and asked the owner to bring her the best satin in the store.

As she spoke, the shopkeeper quickly pulled out a few bundles of the finest satin from the shelf and placed them in front of her.

The old lady examined the various satin colors, pretended not to know which one to buy, and asked the shop owner to make up her mind.

The shopkeeper, eager to please her, asked her whether she was buying it for the young or the elderly. The old lady said: "To tell you the truth, it's for someone I don't know at all. She's a married woman, and my son loves her madly, and it really bothers me, and my son asked me to choose this for her."

Then, she looked at the shop owner with melancholy eyes and sighed softly: "Think how sad my heart is when I see my only son squandering his youth and money on a married woman! In fact, he can easily find a wife among famous ladies everywhere, so that I can also enjoy my old age in peace."

The shopkeeper kept comforting her. Finally, he helped the boss make up his mind and cut a piece of the best silk. He folded the silk, and when he turned to get the wrapping paper, the old lady sneaked the lit cigarette close to the material, and several layers were burned.

Then she put out the fire with a pretense of panic; at the same time, she apologized again and again for her unforgivable carelessness, blaming it on a bad mood. The shopkeeper was even more sympathetic and generously offered to exchange her for a piece of silk of the same size. But the old lady insisted, saying that a wise tailor would try to avoid the burnt place.

The shopkeeper helped her wrap the silk and sent her out of the silk shop.

Then the old lady went to the shopkeeper's house. It was the shopkeeper's wife who came out to open the door.

"Good morning, dear!" The boss said too kindly, "I was so tired this morning that I felt a little dizzy. Can you give me some water to drink and let me go in and rest for a while?"

"Of course, Auntie!" she answered quickly, "Come in! Have a good rest."

The shopkeeper's wife led the eldest wife to the living room. While the shopkeeper's wife went to bring her water, the old lady quietly put the silk bag on the sofa beside her and blocked the silk bag with a cushion. After the old lady drank the water and exchanged a few words with the hostess, she got up and said goodbye.

In the evening, after the shopkeeper came home from the shop, he found the bag and asked his wife where to buy something, but his wife said that he had not left the house for a day.

The owner asked again, "So are there any guests?"

"No," she said. Then she added hastily, "Oh yes, an old lady knocked on the door for water and rested here for a while."

Later, the shopkeeper opened the bag, and when he saw what was in the bag, an ominous omen came to his mind: his wife was unfaithful to him.

"Great Allah in heaven, it turns out that the person who the eldest wife's son loves so much that he is about to go crazy is my wife!"

Jealousy and grief mixed in his heart, he ran to the kitchen, and without saying a word, grabbing his wife was a severe punch and kick. Finally, in a fit of rage, he smashed everything he could get his hands on, making a fuss. Neighbors and passers-by watched outside the house, thinking that the owner had suddenly gone insane today.

"Hey!" said the wizened old woman standing beside the devil Iberis, who was watching the catastrophe she had created across the road, "What do you think of my achievements?"

"Great!" Iberis pursed his lips and smiled. "It's wonderful, all the female ghosts in hell together can't compare to you!"

"Hey," said the old woman, "I don't need to spend any more time to make them reconciled and close again, what do you think?"

Iberis scoffed, "That's impossible."

"Then, look at me!" The old woman glanced at him, "Prepare to take back what you just said before noon tomorrow!"

After speaking, she turned around and went home again.

The next morning, she dressed herself up again as the respectable wife of the day before yesterday, and walked peacefully into the thriving silk shop. She walked up to him and said softly: "Hello, my child. Yesterday, the silk I bought from you seemed to have no luck. At first, I accidentally burned a few holes with a cigarette butt, and then I left it on a sofa in a living room. My son was furious with me."

When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately understood that he had wronged his wife, and hurried home to apologize. His wife loved him very much, and was naturally willing to forgive him and love him again.

The devil Iblis, seeing this happy scene of reconciliation, was so jealous in his heart that all his intrigues were bankrupt.

He saw the shriveled old lady walking towards him quickly. He didn't want to break his promise, so he immediately put away the horns on his head, turned into a spirit, and went into the deepest ground.