Japanese
Long, long ago there lived a Buddhist priest and his young disciple in a mountain temple. The priest was so mean that he never gave the young boy sweets he had been given by the supporters of his temple.
One day the priest was given 'Amasake'(sweet beverage made from fermented rice) by one of them.
When he went working on Buddhist memorial service, he said to the boy,
"Listen to me. This is a poison called 'Amasake'. If you drink it, you will die at once. So never drink it. Do you understand?"
The boy was left alone in the temple and said to himself,
'My master told me that if I drank it, I would die at once. But I'm sure it is a lie. He must have said so for fear that I should drink it.'
Opening the pot, he licked it a little with his index finger.
"Wow, I have never tasted such a sweet drink before." thought he.
He licked and licked it again and again. It was impossible for him to stop it.
"It's delicious. A little more."
As he found that he had drunk it up, he became anxious about it.
"Oh, my God. What would happen if my master came home? I will be severely scolded and hit by him and ..... What shall I do?"
After thinking for a while, he thought up a good idea;
The temple had a big Dharma doll made of clay in a room, which he kicked and broke into pieces.
When the priest came home, the boy pretended to cry, sitting on a porch.
"Mr. Boy. What's the matter with you? Why are you crying? What happened to you?" said the priest.
"My Master. I'm so sorry. When I was cleaning in the room, I happened to break the Dharma doll. I thought I couldn't live any longer. So I drank 'Amasake' you had told me not to drink. I drank and drank until I died, but I can't die yet."
The master laughed at him loudly and said to the boy,
"You are so clever. Ha-ha-ha-ha. But I'll punish you."
Long, long ago there lived a Buddhist priest and his young disciple in a mountain temple. The priest was so mean that he never gave the young boy sweets he had been given by the supporters of his temple.
One day the priest was given 'Ohagi'(rice cake wrapped by sweet small beans)by one of them.
When he went working on Buddhist memorial service in a village, he said to the boy,
"Listen to me. This is a poison called 'Ohagi'. If you eat it, you will die at once. So never eat it. Do you understand?"
The boy was left alone in the temple and said to himself,
'My master told me that if I eat it, I would die at once. But I'm sure it is a lie. He must have said so for fear that I should eat it.'
Opening the cupboard, he picked up and ate it.
"Wow, I have never tasted such a sweet food before." thought he.
He ate and ate it one after another. It was impossible for him to stop it.
"It's delicious. One more."
As he found that he had eaten it up, he became anxious about it.
"Oh, my God. What would happen if my master came home? I will be severely scolded and hit by him and ..... What shall I do?"
After thinking for a while, he thought up a good idea;
He spread the sweet small beans around the mouth of a Buddhist Statue in the main room.
As soon as the priest came home, he opened the cupboard to find it missing.
"Mr. Boy. Where is 'Ohagi'?" asked the priest.
"I don't know anything." said the boy.
"But none is left. Nobody but you can eat it. Neither cats nor mice can open the cupboard. You must have eaten it." said he in anger, picking up a stick to beat the boy.
"My master. There is a thing which can eat it except me."
"Who can eat it except you?"
"I think Buddhist Statue did. I saw it open the cupboard and eat 'Ohagi'. If you think it's a lie, please listen to the statue." said the boy seriously.
The priest and the boy went into the main room. The boy pointed at the statue and said to the priest,
"My master. He is the statue who ate 'Ohagi'. Please look at his mouth. There are the sweet small beans around his mouth."
The priest went in front of the statue and said to it,
"Mr. Buddha. Is it you that ate 'Ohagi'?"
Of course, the statue said nothing to him.
"Mr. Buddha. Is it you that ate 'Ohagi'?" said the priest again.
Of course, the statue said nothing to him.
"Mr. Buddha. Even if you said nothing, your mouth has the sweet small beans." said the priest in anger and hit him on the shoulder with the stick.
"Kuwooon(I don't eat)."
"Kuwooon. I see. Mr. Boy. Statue said he hadn't eaten."
The boy said to the priest,
"My master. Even if the statue is hit, he will never tell us the truth. If he is put into water, he will tell us the truth."
They carried the statue in the pond and made it stand there.
The statue had a small hole at his foot, into which water went, making a sound.
"Kutta,kutta,kutta(I ate)."
Listening to the sound, the boy said to the priest,
"My master. The statue is saying, 'I ate it. I ate it.'"
The master laughed at him loudly and said to the boy,
"You are so clever. Ha-ha-ha-ha. But I'll punish you."
Long ago a priest was not allowed to eat raw fish, because it was a sin for him to kill living animals.
On a Winter day, he visited one of the supporters of his temple.
"As I am old, this coldness tells on me severely." said he to the host.
"Mr. Priest. Why don't you eat an eel? It's not only delicious but good for your health."
He wanted to eat an eel eagerly. As soon as he came home, he called his young disciple,
"Mr. Boy. Though it is cold, go and buy an eel in a town. I would like to make it into medicine."
The young boy thought, "My master is telling a lie.", but he went to the town.
When he returned home from the town, he heard the priest talking with a guest,
"What would my master say if I took an eel in front of the guest? I'll embarrass my master." thought he, and took it in the room.
"My master. I bought medicine for you."
The master looked like embarrassed and said to the boy,
"My Boy. It is not medicine but an eel. You must leave it free in a pond at once."
How disappointed the priest was!
Long, long ago there lived a Buddhist priest and his young disciple in a mountain temple. The priest was so mean that he never gave the young boy sweets he had been given by the supporters of his temple.
One evening the priest was baking 'Mochi'(rice cakes) on 'Hibachi'(brazier) in his room by himself, while the disciple was watching him through a gap between the 'Fusuma'(framed and papered sliding door as a room partition).
"It's baked so delicious." said he, having the hot rice cake.
"Fuu-Fuu." he blew his breath to cool it down before eating it.
The boy wanted to eat so eagerly. After thinking for a while he had a good idea.
On the next evening he said to the priest,
"Mr. Priest. May I ask a favor of you? Do please call me 'Fuu-Fuu' from today."
Though the priest thought it a little strange, he wanted to eat 'Mochi' as soon as possible.
"Ok, I'll call you 'Fuu-Fuu' from now. It's time you went to bed." said he, preparing for it in his room.
"It's baked so delicious." said he, having the hot rice cake.
"Fuu-Fuu." he blew his breath to cool it down before eating it.
Then the young boy opened the sliding door and entered the room.
"Yes,sir. What shall I do?" said the boy.
"What's the matter with you? I didn't call you." So surprised, he stood up.
"You called me, saying 'Fuu-Fuu'."
The master laughed at him loudly and said to the boy,
"You are so clever. Ha-ha-ha-ha." said the priest and gave a piece of rice cake to the boy. (corrected:2002.8.16)
