Once upon a time in Iganga, Uganda , a girl named Nabirye got married & went to live with her husband and mother-in-law.
In a very short time, Nabirye found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Nabirye was angered by many of her mother-in-law' s habits. In addition, she criticized Nabirye constantly.
Days passed, and weeks passed. Nabirye and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that,
according to ancient Soga tradition, Nabirye had to kneel to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Nabirye’s poor husband great distress.
Finally, Nabirye could not stand her mother-in-law' s bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it. She went to see her father's good friend, Muwanga, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all.
Mr. Muwanga thought for awhile, and finally said, "Nabirye, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you." She said,"Yes, Mr. Muwanga, I will do whatever you tell me to do. "Mr. Muwanga went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Nabirye, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspect you, when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. "Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Nabirye was so happy. She thanked Mr. Muwanga and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Nabirye served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Muwanga had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.
After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Nabirye had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost
never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law' s attitude toward Nabirye changed, and she began to love Nabirye like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Nabirye was the best daughter-in- law one could ever find. Nabirye and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Nabirye’s husband was very happy to see what was happening.
One day, Nabirye came to see Mr. Muwanga and asked for his help again She said, "Dear Mr. Muwanga, please help me to keep off the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."
Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Nabirye, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to
improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."
HAVE YOU REALIZED that how you treat others is exactly how they will treat you? There is a wise Kisoga saying: "The person who loves others will also be loved in return."
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