Straw Hats for Jizo

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived an old man and his wife. They were very poor.

The last day of the old year arrived. From the neighboring houses, all that could be heard was "boom!" and "thud!"—the sound of wooden mallets pounding boiled rice to make mochi, the traditional New Year's treat.

"Do you hear that, old woman? The mallets are pounding," the old man smiled. "I love it when they make mochi for the holiday!"

Meanwhile, in the old couple's home, there was only a handful of rice left—not enough to make even a single mochi. The old man and woman thought and thought, and finally decided to give that handful of rice to the mice—let them cook it, pound it, and feed their hungry little ones.

"And you and I, old man, will welcome the New Year without rice!" said the old woman.

That's how kind the old man and woman were! From all sides, the "boom!" and "thud!" continued—the sound of neighbors pounding rice for mochi.

The old man peeked into the mouse hole and said:

"Mice, mice, wouldn't you like to make some mochi for the New Year? We don't have much rice, but it should be enough to fill your little bellies!"
"Thank you, grandpa!" squeaked the mice. "We love rice cakes so much!"
"Well, that's good!" said the old woman. "But we, old man, must also find a way to celebrate the New Year!"

And so, the old man and woman decided to weave hats from rice straw, sell them in the city, and use the money to buy mochi for themselves. They set to work, and the mice helped them!

In the end, they wove five straw hats. The old man took the hats, tied them to his back, said goodbye to everyone, and set off for the city.

A heavy snow was falling.

"Grandpa, take care of yourself, and come back soon!" the household called after him.
"Thank you! I'll definitely buy something tasty for you!" the old man waved goodbye.

The old man walked beyond the village outskirts and saw the statues of the Jizo deities, dusted with snow.

"Poor things! You must be freezing!" thought the old man, and he carefully brushed the snow off the heads and shoulders of the stone statues.

Then he clasped his hands in prayer and spoke to the gods:
"Thank you for helping us all year long! And I ask you: please help us welcome the New Year well!"
With these words, the old man continued on his way to the city. The Jizo statues stood in a row, all six of them, watching him go.

Finally, the old man reached the bustling, crowded city and began to call out loudly, offering his wares:
"Straw hats here! Straw hats! Who wants hats?"

But the people, laden with New Year's purchases, hurried past. No one even glanced at the old man or his hats. The day passed in vain. The old man sold nothing and began to prepare for the journey home.

He walked for a long time in the twilight along the snowy road until he reached the outskirts of his village, where the stone statues still stood under the snow.

"You must be freezing!" the old man pitied them again. "But don't worry, I'll cover you with hats!" With these words, he once again brushed the snow off the statues and placed a straw hat on each one. One problem: the old man had only five hats, but there were six Jizo statues! What to do?

After a moment's thought, the old man took the towel he had used to cover his head and tied it around the sixth Jizo statue:
"Now everything is fine. Now each one has a hat or a towel, and they'll be a little warmer," thought the old man, and his heart warmed as well.

"Old woman, I'm back!" the old man announced as he stepped through the door.
"Oh, you poor thing, how you must have suffered and frozen," the old woman fussed, rushing to meet him.
The old man told her everything that had happened, holding nothing back.
"You did the right thing," the old woman encouraged him. "Let the gods be pleased and send us a good New Year."

Night fell, and the old man and woman went to bed. But suddenly, from outside, they heard shouts and cries. It was clear that someone was dragging something heavy through the soft snow:

"Heave-ho, heave-ho! Heave-ho, heave-ho! One-two—pull! One-two—pull!"
"Who could that be at such a late hour?" The old man looked out the window and saw the six Jizo statues dragging a sled loaded with something. But when he and the old woman ran outside, they found only the gifts left by the deities. There was everything—a sack of rice, vegetables, and plenty of other delicacies.
"How grateful we are! Was it really necessary to trouble yourselves so?" The old man and woman wanted to thank their benefactors, but all they saw were the quickly retreating figures of the deities.

And so, the first morning of the New Year arrived. From the provisions left by the Jizo, the old man and woman prepared a lavish feast.
"Ah, how delicious!" was heard repeatedly in the house. "Thank you to our gods! Thanks to them, we had a wonderful New Year!"

And so, the story of the straw hats for the Jizo statues came to a happy end.

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Straw Hats for Jizo

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