Carp in the Dream 夢の中の鯉

The Carp in the Dream Japanese

Long, long ago there lived a priest at a temple near Lake Biwa (in Shiga Prefecture). He loved fish and liked drawing them. He actually made time and always drew fish. In fact, the fish in his pictures looked livelier than the real ones swimming in the lake. Of course he had never killed fish nor ate them.
One day, he fell ill, and it became serious. His disciples sat around his bed. They thought the priest was dying. But three days later, he suddenly opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Oh, you've finally regained consciousness," one of the disciples said.
"Actually, I felt like I was dying. How long did I sleep?・the priest asked.
"For three days," they replied.
The priest nodded and said,
"Will someone go to Suke, a fisherman in the village? Tell him to come to see me at once. I have a curious story to tell him."
After a while, the young fisherman rushed to the priest at the temple. The priest said to him,
"I assume that you went fishing in the lake and caught a big carp three days ago, and you chopped off its head about half an hour ago."
"That's right. I wonder how you know that," Suke was puzzled.
The priest kept on talking,
carp

"I had a strange dream for these three days. One day, I was walking along the lake. Its clear blue water tempted me to swim. I took my clothes off and jumped into the water. Strange to say, I could easily breathe even in the water just as if I were on the ground. Then a gigantic fish came to me and told me to ride on it, and then it took me to the depth of the lake.
I saw a man there wearing gorgeous clothes with a crown on his head. He was God of the lake. He said to me, 'I have been waiting for you. You have loved fish so much and have drawn a lot of fish in your pictures. So I'll give you a carp's gold clothes. You can enjoy the life as a carp here. But I have to give you a warning. Be careful. Never bite a bait on a hook, or you'll be caught and killed by people.' saying so, God disappeared and I found myself to be a carp. I felt happy and began to swim at my discretion. I had swum every inch of the lake for three days. Then I felt hungry, but I couldn't find anything to eat. At last I saw something small to eat. Though I had been told to be careful, I couldn't stand my hunger any more, and I bit it. You were fishing on a boat, and it was your bait, right? When I was caught, I cried many times, 'It's me. It's me.' At your kitchen, you put me on a chopping board. I cried again, 'I'm a priest. I'm a priest. Help me!' At last you chopped off my head with a fish knife. Then I became conscious surrounded by my disciples."
The priest finished talking his story. Listening to it, the fisherman said to the priest,
"It's true. I saw the carp gasping when I was about to chop its head off, but it was impossible for me to understand what the gasps meant."
After that, the priest lived out his natural life. He left his will on his death bed that the fish-pictures he had drawn should be thrown into the lake. Wonders did happen; the fish in the pictures changed to real fish and began to swim in the lake. (2013.9.1 With Itaya)