Ancient Chinese Fables: 聪明的老妈妈 (The Clever Old Woman) by 韓詩外傳 (Hang Ying’s Commentary on the Book of Songs)

聪明的老妈妈

臣里母相善妇，见疑盗肉，其姑去之。恨而告于里母。
里母曰：“安行？今令姑呼汝！”
即束蕴请火去妇之家曰：“吾犬争肉相杀，请火治之。
”姑乃直使人逐去妇还之。
——故里母非谈说之士；束蕴请火，非还妇之道也；然物有所感，事有可适。

——《韩诗外传》

The Clever Old Woman

An old woman was friendly with a young wife, whose mother-in-law suspected her of stealing some meat and wanted to drive her away. In despair she went to complain to the old woman.“Where can you go?”..demanded her old neighbor. “I shall get your mother-in-law to call you back.”Then she took a bundle of straw to the house where the young woman lived.“My dogs are fighting over some stolen meat,” she said. “So I want to light a fire to give them a beating.”As soon as the mother-in-law heard that, she sent to recall her daughter-in-law.This old woman was not gifted with eloquence, and taking a bundle of straw to ask for a light is not the usual means of effecting a reconciliation; but when you do the right thing you achieve results.

Hang Ying’s Commentary on the Book of Songs