A Hole in the Shoji

Once, on the very eve of the New Year, a rice merchant knocked on the door of a poor man's house:

"Good evening!"

"Who's there?"

"It's me, the rice merchant. Today is the last day of the year, time to pay your debts!"

"Ah! The rice merchant... I'm not home," came the reply.

The merchant was surprised—he was clearly speaking to the homeowner. He stood there, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, he absentmindedly ran his hand along the paper wall—the shoji. He kept running his hand until a hole appeared in the shoji. The merchant peeked through the hole and was stunned: the homeowner was indeed inside! He was lying down, resting. The merchant grew angry:

"So, you're trying to cheat me, are you? Turns out you are home, my dear friend. I can see you."

The poor man jumped up, ran to the shoji, and shouted:

"Who ever heard of such a thing! Coming into someone else's house and poking holes in the shoji!"

"How awkward," the rice merchant said, embarrassed.

He took a piece of paper from his pocket and began to patch the hole. "Look, the hole is gone now," he said.

"And you can't see me anymore?" the poor man replied.

"I can't see you," the merchant sighed with relief. "You really can't see me at all?"

"Not at all."

"Well, that's good," the poor man said cheerfully. "And if that's the case, I'm not home."

More fairy tales

• The Temple of the White Herons
• Friend and Brother
• The Mountain God and the Okoze Fish
• The Vow of Silence
• The Werewolf from the Old Temple