A Fishy Story: When Tradition Doesn't Hold

Once upon a time, there was a woman who just got married. Being a good wife, she prepared the first meal for her husband. However, the husband was puzzled with the way the fried fish was cooked so he asked "Why happened to the tail? It's the best part of the fish!"  The wife replied, "Oh, my mom told me to cut the tail everytime I prepare the fish. I don't know why I need to do that. Maybe I should ask her."

 

The next day, she asked her mother why she taught her to cut off the fish tail.  "Oh! Your wise grandmother taught me to do so. I guess it is kind of like a tradition just like the rest of the rules.  You know like you cannot cut your nails at night, or you cannot wash your hair during the confinement period..., perhaps you can ask gramma?"  Over the weekend, the young woman and the husband visited her grandmother.  While eating at her grandmother's house, she asked "Gramma, why is it that you taught mother to cut off the fish tail? I have never tasted fish tail but my husband said it is the best part of the fish." The grandmother answered, "Well, I don't know... I saw my mother (your great-grandmother) cutting the fish tail the one time she prepared it. You know, it was a long time ago, we were poor so we did not always have the opportunity to eat fish or meat. Maybe you can ask her?" 

 

The young woman looked across the table to her very old, almost blind and ailing great-grandmother, "Ah tai, why did you teach gramma to cut the fish tail?" After pondering for a while, she answered "Oh. It's because the fish was too long for our small pot!"