The mother and her daughter-in-law [Archives:2002/33/Last Page]

Written by Abdulrahman Mutahhar
Translated by Janet Watson
Ma What on earth can I do, Musid? Look after your grandchildren, or look after you, or do the housework, or should I just shout out for the emergency services!
M You know best. See whatll help you out most, and do that!
Ma How on earth I am going to find help when Im bearing all this responsibility and youre simply sitting there looking on as if nothing was wrong!
M What can I do? Go and hire a cannon and force my daughter-in-law to return to her children, or get the police to order her to take the children to live with her. What do you think? Which would be easier, Musida?
Ma Come on, do you want the truth? I tell you, Ive never seen anything like those in-laws weve got, and I dont expect Ill see the like of them again in my lifetime!
M They say your daughter-in-law is one of the family!
Ma Exactly! And the fact is that this daughter-in-law of yours has not become part of the family, and no-one in her family has a beard we could pull!
M We dont want to pull anyones beard. Either the mother comes back to look after her children, or she takes her children to live with her and we make sure she has everything both she and the children need.
Ma Only a proper gabili would understand that type of speech. Not everyone who has girded their loins is a good, upright person.
M Thats right. Not everyone whos girded their loins is a good, upright person. The good person is one who can prove themselves beyond reproach. But Ill tell you one thing, entirely between you and me, all the blame and criticism so far can be directed to you.
Ma If Im to blame for anything, or it turns out Im in the wrong, Ill slaughter a cow for them, Musid!
M Its gone beyond that stage. Your daughter-in-law told me in no uncertain terms in front of her family, I would rather share a cave on the mountainside with the baboons than live with Musida, even if she lived in Bilgiss palace with her throne and all the crown jewels!
Ma So now what? The mountains are full of baboons! The only thing Id be worried about is the baboons having a heart attack at the sight of her, and theyd be no one to resuscitate them!
M Honestly, I could have laid down my jambiya in front of them when she said shed rather live with baboons than with you, but her mother is the daughter of a proper gabili. She slapped her daughter over the head, shoved her out of the room, and locked the door.
Ma This isnt the time for poetic description, Musid. I want a solution. Either she comes back for her children, or she takes them away with her and takes care of them properly. Please think, Musid! Her children are still very young ones only a year old, and the others still crawling. The only person theyve got is their mother!
M Exactly! But they told me they would only bring her back if she had a house of her own. If not, the children can stay with you and their daughter with them, and well all have to figure a way out!
Ma A way out fighting over two babies! Are we supposed to be bringing up a generation for the state to be proud of, or are we rearing sheep and goats, Musid?
M What options do we have? You really pestered me to marry the boy off so that you could celebrate his wedding and ululate from the door and out of the window, and I was still supporting him at the time. Thats the first thing. And the second is that with your meanness and greed youve put a proper embargo on the poor woman sugar, tea, coffee and flour only ever emerge when you dole them out. Thats the second thing. The third thing is that she told her husband to get off his butt and do a proper days work. He said, Fine! turned over, and went back to sleep. The fourth thing is that when she fled to her fathers house to give birth to the two children, she had to sell half her gold for her birth celebrations and the things she needed for herself and the children, because of your miserliness, and my lack of means. The fifth thing is that she became really fed up because her husband was unable to earn enough to keep himself and his family, and hes built like an ox! And all this, Musida, is due to the difficulties of married life and the problems of bringing up children. And youre at the root of it, because youre the one who got me to marry our son off before he was capable of earning his own living. Listen to me, Musida. Im going to bring our daughter-in-law back to live under our roof and look after her children. And Ill make sure she gets everything she wants. You can then get up early and pull our son out of bed, and give him an axe so he can go and chop wood and sell it. And tell him he neednt bother to show his face until hes got himself a house for his wife and children. Marriage isnt something to be taken lightly in order to please your son. Marriage is about having children, and responsibility, and providing security. It sorts out the men from the boys. As the Arab proverb goes, Not everyone who has ridden a horse can call himself a rider.

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