The Cap of 'Sensitive Ears'

Once upon a time, there lived an old man in a village. One day, he went into the forest and found an old red cap. The old man was delighted with his discovery: even though the cap was old, he had never owned one like it before.

"Does it fit me?" thought the old man and put the cap on his head. And what happened? Before, he had only heard the chirping and cries of birds, but now the entire forest was filled with arguments and conversations. In one place, a mother was calling her children, in another, a husband was arguing with his wife, and elsewhere, tender words of love could be heard.

The old man was so frightened that he jumped back! A branch knocked the cap off his head, and immediately the voices fell silent, leaving only the birds' chirping. The old man picked up the cap from the ground, put it back on his head, and once again, he heard conversations both above, in the branches, and below, in the bushes. He took off the cap—again, only the incomprehensible chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves. He put the cap back on—and again, the intelligent speech returned.

"So that's it!" the old man realized. "I didn't find just any ordinary thing, but a treasure—the 'Sensitive Ears' cap. Whoever wears it will understand the language of all living things on earth: birds, animals, and plants. I had heard of it before, but I never believed it existed!"

The old man continued walking through the forest, sat down to rest under a large tree, and dozed off. He woke up to the cawing of crows.

"Seems like I dozed off," the old man stirred. He looked up and saw a crow flying in from somewhere and perching on a branch of the very tree under which he had been sleeping. Soon, another crow flew in from the opposite side and sat on a branch next to the first one.

The old man quickly put on his red cap and began to listen.

The two crows above him began a conversation in strange, hoarse voices.

"It's been a long time since we last met, brother," said one crow. "Where are you coming from?"

"I was at the seashore, but the fish disappeared, and there was nothing to eat, so I flew here," replied the other crow. "And where have you been flying, brother?"

"I came from Arami; honestly, it's no better there. It's the same everywhere! Better tell me, what's new and unheard of in the world?"

"Nothing special. Although, wait, I'll tell you what happened in my area, by the seashore. In one village, about six years ago, a rich man was building a storeroom. They started making a roof out of shingles. And it so happened that a snake crawled onto the roof at that time, and it got nailed down. The snake lies there, suffering, half-alive, and all these years its faithful companion has been bringing it food. Their heavy grief torments them, and their resentment towards people grows year by year. And it has afflicted the rich man's daughter with an incurable illness. If no one figures out to lift the board and free the snake, both the snake and the girl will die. I've flown over the roof many times and cawed about it at the top of my lungs, but people have no compassion! No one heeded my words."

The other crow replied:

"You're right, people are so uncomprehending! No matter how loudly you caw, they just don't get it."

The crows talked and then flew off: one to the west, the other to the east.

The old man heard this and thought:

"Good thing I was wearing this magical cap! I must hurry to the rich man to save the girl and the snake. But first, I'll dress up strangely so they see I'm no ordinary man."

The old man found an abandoned old beehive on the outskirts of the village, covered it with paper, and put it on his head.

According to Japanese folklore, grief and resentment can cause a severe illness to the offender, even without the will or knowledge of the offended.

In this attire, the old man came to the rich man's house and shouted at the gate:

"A fortune-teller has come, a fortune-teller!"

The rich man was sitting there, racking his brains over how to cure his sick daughter. He called the old man:

"Hey, fortune-teller, don't stand at the gate, come into my house and tell my fortune!"

The old man entered the house and asked:

"What do you need fortune-telling for?"

"My daughter has been sick for many years, she's about to die. Tell me why this illness has befallen her and how to cure her."

"Take me to the sick girl," said the old man.

He sat at the head of the sick girl's bed and mumbled incomprehensible incantations:

"Creeping kudzu stems
Crawl over the mountains, look,
Spreading for twenty ri!"

After mumbling this, he told everything he had heard from the crow.

"The fortune-teller speaks the truth," exclaimed the rich man. "It was exactly six years ago that I built the storeroom. That must be when it happened. We must free the snake immediately."

They immediately called the carpenter who lived nearby and ordered him to lift the shingle. Indeed, beneath it was the snake, all dried up, translucent-white, barely alive.

"Here's the cause of the illness!" said the old man. They carefully placed the snake in a basket, carried it down from the roof, set the basket by the stream, and began to feed and water the snake. When it recovered, they set it free.

And the girl's illness began to gradually fade. Soon, she was completely healed.

The rich man, overwhelmed with joy, gave the old man three hundred ryō.

The old man returned home, bought himself new clothes, and in his joy, set off to wander.

One day, he sat down to rest under a spreading tree by the road. Lo and behold, two crows flew in again—one from the west, the other from the east. They perched on the tree and began a conversation.

"It's dreary living in the same city all the time, you hear little that's new," complained the first crow. "You can't help but fly to new lands."

"That's true," replied the second crow, "but in the city where I lived, something unprecedented happened. A rich man fell seriously ill; he'll die any day now. And why? About six years ago, he added a grand wing to his house, and to clear space for it, he ordered an old camphor tree to be cut down. The stump of that tree remained under the eaves, and rainwater from the roof flows onto it. The tree's roots didn't die, and as long as there's life in them, they keep sprouting new shoots. But they're immediately cut off. So the tree neither lives nor dies. It harbors bitter thoughts, and from these thoughts, the rich man fell gravely ill. Every night, many trees from the mountain forests come to visit their unfortunate friend. The camphor tree complains to them, but what can they do? They should either let it live freely or dig it up so it can wither and suffer no more!"

The old man heard the crow's story and went to the rich man. He arrived and shouted at the gate:

"A fortune-teller has come, a fortune-teller!"

People ran out from the rich man's chambers:

"Fortune-teller, come in, the master is inviting you."

They led the old man into such luxurious chambers as he had never seen in his life. The old man looked around and asked:

"What do you need fortune-telling for?"

"The master of this house has been ill for many years," they replied. "No matter how many doctors and spellcasters we've called, none have helped!"

"Don't worry!" said the old man in a solemn voice. "I will find the cause of the illness and cure your master."

The old man mumbled his incantations:

"Creeping kudzu stems
Crawl over the mountains, look,
Spreading for twenty ri!"

And then he began to speak:

"Six years ago, you built grand chambers next to the house..."

"Ah, seer, how do you know we built such chambers six years ago?" asked the household.

"My divination revealed it to me. Let me stay in those chambers, and in three days and three nights, I will uncover the cause of your master's illness and banish it."

They took the old man to the very chambers where the camphor tree was suffering. His first order was:

"Do not enter until I call!"

Night fell, but the old man did not sleep. He put on his cap and listened to what would happen next.

At midnight, something rustled, there was a noise outside, and a voice was heard:

"Hey, camphor tree, answer! How is your health today?"

A very quiet voice, as if from underground, responded:

"Who is speaking? Is it the 'nagi' tree from Mount Rokkaushi? You come to me every night from afar. How can I thank you for your care? All I think about now is how to die quickly, but death does not come, and my suffering has no end."

The 'nagi' tree began to comfort its friend:

"Don't despair, don't despair! Have hope!"

They talked like this and then parted. But not even an hour passed before there was another rustle, and someone's voice asked:

"Hey, camphor tree, how are you today?"

The camphor tree replied faintly:

"I can't be saved. I don't know how to thank you, friends, for visiting me every night! Who is speaking to me? Is it the creeping pine from Mount Hayatine?"

"It is."

"You've come from afar!.."

"It's nothing! I just felt like taking a walk and stopped by on the way. Spring will come, and you will surely recover! Have hope!"

And again, there was a rustling sound as the creeping pine left.

The old man, wearing his "Sensitive Ears" cap, heard all their words and thought: "If only dawn would come soon!"

As soon as morning broke, the old man asked to be taken to the sick man. He sat at his bedside and again mumbled his incantations about the creeping kudzu stems. Then he told of the sorrow of the forest trees. It wasn't just the camphor tree suffering—all the trees on the high mountains around grieved for their friend.

"We must dig up the camphor tree's stump, and then the sick man will recover!" said the old man.

They immediately dug up the camphor tree stump, placed it in the garden, and decorated it like a deity. And the master's illness began to fade. Soon, he was completely healthy.

Everyone in the house didn't know how to thank the old man. Again, he received three hundred ryō and returned home. He decided he had had enough and gave up fortune-telling.

The old man planted a fine garden, the likes of which no one else in the village had. In gratitude to the old man, the most beautiful trees from all around settled in it and bloomed every spring with unprecedented beauty. And all the animals and birds were friends with the old man because he understood and pitied them.

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The Cap of 'Sensitive Ears'

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