| The Old Man who made the Dead Tree Blossom |
Once upon a time, there was an old couple. They lived in a small town. They were really gentle and kind. The husbandfs name was Takuro and the wifefs name was Tekko. One day, they found a white dog. They named the dog "Jiro". Jiro was a cute little dog. From then, they began to live together.
A few days later, it was a very fine day. They were in the field. Suddenly, Jiro began digging around the ground and barked at Takuro. Jiro said, "Dig here!". Takuro wondered. And he dug there soon. Then, there was money. Jiro made it! Jiro was an awesome dog! They were very happy. After that, they held a party all night with the neighbors. Takuro wanted to put that money to use good.
On the other hand, there was a neighbor whose name was Hisashi. Hisashi was very jealous that the dog found the money. Hisashi wanted the dog because Hisashi wanted money! So, Hisashi took Jiro away from them! And he made Jiro find money and dig the ground. But all Jiro dug up was a lot of junk. Hisashi was very angry. Later, he killed Jiro!
Takuro and Tekko really cried when they heard that Jiro was dead. After that, they built a grave for Jiro. They really loved Jiro. And they planted a tree. They hoped the tree would protect the grave from heavy rain and wind. Afterwards, the tree grew very big. Before long, Jiro appeared in Takurofs dream. Jiro said to Takuro, "Please make that tree into a mortar!" They made a mortar. They made a great one. And they cooked rice cakes. Then, the mortar was full of money! Takuro and Tekko were surprised again!
However, the neighbor Hisashi stole that mortar! Hisashi also made rice cakes using that mortar, but the mortar was not full of money but junk. Hisashi was very angry again and broke it! Takuro and Tekko made the mortar into ashes because Jiro appeared in their dream again! "Next time, please make ashes from the broken mortar!" Takuro scattered the ashes on a dead tree. To his surprise, the tree blossomed! It was amazing! The tree became full of beautiful blooms! After that, they had lived happily ever after.
The end