冥報記 3.11

3.11

隨大業中。河南人婦。養姑不孝。姑兩目盲。婦切蚯蚓為羹以食。姑怪其味。竊藏一臠。留以示兒。兒還見之。欲送婦詣縣。未及。而雷震。失其婦。俄從空落。身衣如故。而易其頭為白狗頭。言語不異。問其故。答云。以不孝姑。為天神所罰。夫以送官。時乞食於市。後不知所在。

During the Daye era of the Sui, the wife of a man of Henan was unfilial in caring for her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law was blind in both eyes. The wife chopped earthworms to make broth and gave it to her to eat. The mother-in-law was suspicious of its taste, secretly hid a piece of the meat, and kept it to show her son. When the son returned and saw it, he wanted to deliver his wife to the county magistracy. Before they arrived, a thunderclap sounded, and his wife vanished. Presently, she fell from the sky; her body and clothes were as before, but her head had changed into a white dog's head. Her speech remained unchanged. When asked the reason, she answered, 'Because I was unfilial to my mother-in-law, I have been punished by the heavenly spirits.' Her husband sent her to the authorities, and she would beg for food in the marketplace. Later, her whereabouts became unknown.