After the wedding rituals were finished, Mrs. Harrison spent hours cleaning the house. Exhausted, she finally went to sleep. Her son Daniel and his new wife Emily had already gone to their room long before that.
The next morning, Mrs. Harrison woke up at five. She began cleaning again because the house was messy with dust and oil stains from the celebration. By ten o’clock her back ached and her waist felt stiff from bending all morning. Yet there was still no movement from upstairs.
She called from the bottom of the stairs.
“Emily! Emily, come down and start cooking.”
No answer.
After waiting a while she called again.
“Emily, wake up!”
Still nothing.
Her legs hurt and she didn’t want to keep climbing the stairs again and again. But irritation slowly replaced her patience. Finally, she grabbed a wooden stick from the corner of the kitchen and headed upstairs to “teach the new bride some manners.”
Panting as she reached the top, she muttered angrily.
“What kind of daughter-in-law sleeps until noon right after getting married? No respect at all!”
She pushed open the door.
“Get up!” she shouted.
Then she pulled away the blanket.
And suddenly she froze.