Grandfather Hanasaka
Long, long ago, there lived an old man and an old woman in the world. They were honest and kind people, but alas, they had no children. And so, they kept a dog named Siro. They loved him as if he were their own child, and Siro, in return for their love and affection, served them faithfully and loyally.Next door lived another old man and old woman. But these were greedy and mean people. They hated Siro and always scolded him or tried to hit him with something.
One day, the kind old man was plowing his field, and Siro ran after him, following closely. He ran around, sniffed the ground, and then suddenly grabbed his master's hem with his teeth and dragged him to a far corner of the field where an old elm tree grew. Siro brought the old man to the tree and began scratching the ground with his paws. He scratched and barked, as if trying to say, "Dig here! Dig here!"
"What is this all about?" thought the old man. He struck the ground with his hoe—something clinked. He dug further and unearthed a whole pile of gold. The old man was frightened and quickly called his wife. Together, they somehow managed to carry the treasure back to their house. And so, unexpectedly, the kind people became rich...
The greedy neighbor found out about this, and envy consumed him. He went to the old man and begged him to lend him the dog for a while. The old man, in his simplicity, agreed and handed Siro over. The neighbor tied a rope around Siro's neck and dragged him to his own field.
"There must be gold here too. Look! Look!" he shouted and yanked the rope so hard that poor Siro, in pain, began scratching the ground with his paws.
"Aha, so it's here!" The neighbor grabbed his hoe. He dug and dug, but all he found were stones and broken tiles. However, he didn't give up on his plan and dug deeper. But then, suddenly, a foul stench rose from the ground, and the hole filled with filth.
"Ugh, how disgusting!" the greedy old man shouted in rage. "This is what you get for this!"
He swung his hoe and struck the dog on the head. Siro let out a yelp and fell lifeless to the ground.
No matter how much the old man and his wife grieved afterward, there was nothing they could do. They carried Siro to the garden, dug a hole, and buried him with tears. Over the spot, they planted a small pine tree.
The pine tree began to grow not by the day, but by the hour, and soon it turned into a huge, mighty tree.
"I'll make something to remember Siro by," thought the old man. He cut down the pine and carved a mortar out of it.
"Let's bake some rice cakes," he said to his wife. "Our Siro loved them so much!"
And so, the two of them began pounding rice in the mortar. But what a miracle! No matter how much they pounded, the rice in the mortar only increased. It spilled over the edges and soon filled the entire kitchen.
The greedy neighbors heard about this, and their envy grew even stronger. Shamelessly, they went to the old man and his wife again, asking to borrow the mortar. And the old man and his wife, being kind people, couldn't refuse their neighbors.
The neighbor brought the mortar home, filled it with rice, and began pounding it with his wife. But instead of rice, a foul smell suddenly rose from the mortar, and filth poured out—it dirtied the entire kitchen.
Enraged, the greedy neighbors smashed the mortar into tiny pieces and burned it.
The kind old man came to retrieve his mortar, but all that remained was a pile of ashes. He was saddened, but there was nothing he could do. He gathered the ashes in a basket and sadly trudged home.
"Look, old woman, this is all that's left of Siro's pine tree!"
The old man carried the ashes to the garden, intending to scatter them over the spot where Siro was buried. But then a wind blew and scattered a handful of ashes across the garden. The ashes fell on the branches of the plum and cherry trees, which were frozen under the snow, and suddenly—what a wonder!—before the old man's eyes, they burst into bloom. It was the middle of winter, but in the old man's garden, it was as if spring had arrived.
Overjoyed, the old man even clapped his hands.
"Ah, how wonderful! If I wanted to, I could make everything bloom!"
He gathered the remaining ashes in the basket and set off for the city. As he walked down the street, he cried out:
"I am Grandfather Hanasaka! I am Grandfather 'Make the Cherry Blossoms Bloom'! Wherever I go, cherry blossoms bloom in the garden!"
At that very moment, the provincial governor was returning from a hunt with his retinue. He heard the old man, called him over, and said:
"I've never seen anything like this. Go on, try it! Make these withered cherry branches bloom."
The old man quickly climbed a tree with his basket.
"Bloom, golden one, bloom, silver one!" he shouted and sprinkled a handful of ashes on the branches. In that instant, before the governor's eyes, the entire tree was covered in lush blossoms.
"Amazing!" marveled the governor. "Such beauty I've never seen!" He praised the old man and rewarded him generously.
The greedy neighbor heard about this, and again envy took hold of him. He scraped together a basket of ashes from what remained of the mortar and also set off for the city. As he walked down the street, he cried out:
"I am Grandfather Hanasaka!
I am Grandfather 'Make the Cherry Blossoms Bloom'!
Wherever I go,
Cherry blossoms bloom in the garden!"
At that very moment, the governor happened to pass by again.
"Ah, it's you, the flower sower? Well then, show us again how your trees bloom!"
The greedy old man, with a smug look, climbed a cherry tree. He reached the very top and began haphazardly throwing ashes, muttering:
"Bloom, golden one, bloom, silver one!"
A strong wind blew, scattering the ashes in all directions. The governor and his retinue were not spared—ashes got into their noses, eyes, and mouths. Chaos erupted: some were rubbing their eyes, others sneezing, coughing, or brushing themselves off. The governor was furious:
"Ah, you deceitful old man! How dare you mock me?!"
He ordered the old man to be seized, beaten soundly, and thrown into prison—so that he wouldn't deceive people again.
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