Negligence of the daughter-in-law but trouble for the in-laws

It had only been two months since the wedding when Sohni, wearing a fur-trimmed cardigan, was cooking. The sleeve of the cardigan caught fire from the stove’s flame, and the blaze quickly spread from her shoulder to her loose hair. Just as swiftly, she pulled off the cardigan, twisted it, and managed to put out the fire. Only a few strands of hair had been singed. She spent a few seconds catching her breath, trying to grasp what had just happened.

Her husband was away at the office, and her mother-in-law was in the garden chatting with a neighbor. When she came inside, Sohni first showed her the burnt sweater—it was only then she herself realized how much of it had burned—and then explained how it had happened. On hearing this, her mother-in-law panicked, thinking that had Sohni actually been harmed by the fire, the police would have harassed her endlessly with questions and accusations.