How the Daughter-in-Law Got the Coins is a Sri Lankan fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

collected by H. Parker in Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon.

It is Aarne-Thompson type 982, Ungrateful Heirs.

Synopsis

A man marries a rich woman who did not help his mother. He gives his mother a bag full of pottery shards. The mother contracts leprosy, but since she shakes the bags where the daughter-in-law can hear and announces that whoever cares for it will have, the daughter-in-law tends her. After the mother dies, the woman realizes it was shards, not coins.

Variants

The tale is widespread, with many ways to trick the heirs into thinking there is wealth to be had.