Once there was a man of deep faith. His father died when he was young; he lived happily with his mother, and then he took a wife.

At first, they lived happily together and then, because of a small misunderstanding, the wife and her mother-in-law came to dislike each other. This dislike grew until finally the mother left the young couple to live by herself.

After the mother-in-law left, a song was born to the young couple. A rumor reached the mother-in-law that the young wife had said, "My mother-in-law was always annoying me and as long as she lived with us nothing pleasant ever happened; but as soon as she went we had this happy event."

This rumor angered the mother-in-law who exclaimed, "If the husband's mother is chased away from the house and a happy event takes place, then things have come to a pretty pass. Righteousness must have disappeared from the world."

Then the mother shouted, "Now, we must have a funeral of this 'righteousness'." Like a mad woman she went to the cemetery to hold a funeral service.

A god, hearing of this incident, appeared in front of the woman and tried to reason with her, but in vain.

The god then said to her, "If so, I must burn the child and his mother to death. Will that satisfy you?"

Hearing this, the mother-in-law realized her mistake, apologized for her anger, and begged the god to save the lives of the child and his mother. At the same time, the young wife and her husband realized their injustice to the old woman and went to the cemetery to seek her. The god reconciled them and thereafter they lived together as a happy family.

Righteousness is never lost forever unless one casts it away oneself. Righteousness occasionally may seem to disappear but, in fact, it never disappears. When it seems to be disappearing, it is because one is losing the righteousness of one's own mind.

Discordant minds often bring disaster. A trifling misunderstanding may be followed by great misfortune. This is especially to be guarded against in family life.