content: and one day , not long after they had been married , his wife said to him : " to - morrow morning my mother celebrates her birthday , and you must go to congratulate her . they will offer you tea and food . the tea you may drink , but be sure not to touch any of the food . keep this in mind ! " so the following day the wife and husband went to her mother 's home and offered their congratulations . her parents seemed highly pleased , and served them with tea and sweets . the son - in - law drank , but ate nothing , though his wife 's parents , with kind words and friendly gestures , kept urging him to help himself . at last the son - in - law did not know what to do , and thought that surely they could mean him no ill . and seeing the fresh caught eels and crabs on the plate before him , he ate a little of them . his wife gave him a reproachful glance , and he offered some excuse for taking his leave . but still he did not believe her , until he suddenly felt terrible pains , which soon grew unbearable , so that he fell to the ground unconscious . his wife at once hung him up by the feet from the beam of the roof , and put a panful of glowing charcoal under his body , and a great jar of water , into which she had poured sesame oil , in front of the fire , directly below his mouth . and when the fire had heated him thoroughly , he suddenly opened his mouth - and can you imagine what came out of it ? a squirming , crawling mass of poisonous worms , centipedes , toads and tadpoles , who all fell into the jar of water . then his wife untied him , carried him to bed , and gave him wine mingled with realgar to drink . then he recovered . " what you ate in the belief that they were eels and crabs , " said his wife , " were nothing but toads and tadpoles , and the birthday noodles were poisonous worms and centipedes . but you must continue to be careful . my parents know that you have not died , and they will think up other evil plans . " a few days later his father - in - law said to him : " there is a large tree growing on the precipice which juts over the cave . in it is the nest of the phenix . you are still young and able to climb , so go there quickly and fetch me the eggs ! " his son - in - law went home and told his wife . 
answer: her parents had evil plans .
question: why did the wife tell her her husband to not touch any of the food at her mother's birthday celebration ?
target: why did the wife tell her her husband to not touch any of the food at her mother's birthday celebration ?
references: why did the wife tell her her husband to not touch any of the food at her mother's birthday celebration ?