Brahmadatta, king of Benares, had a son whom he feared, so he sent the son away with his wife, and these two lived in a village in Kási. When the king died they returned to Benares and on the way someone gave the prince a bowl of food asking share it with his wife; but he ate it all, and even when he became king and she his queen, he showed her very little honour. The Bodhisatta, who was the king's counsellor, perceiving this, asked the queen to speak to the king about his neglect of her. The king confessed his fault, and thereafter showed the queen great honour.
The story was related to a landowner of Sávatthi who once went with his wife into the country to collect a debt. On the way back, when they were famishing, someone gave a meal to be shared by them. But the man, deceiving his wife, sent her on ahead and ate the food himself. The wife, on visiting the Buddha, spoke to him of this. The two couples were identical. J.ii.202ff. Cp. Godha Játaka.