Fox and the Old Man

Once upon a time, there was a cave in the area called Akabane in Yatsuhashi, and fox parents and fox children were living in that cave. A small stream was flowing adjacent to the cave.

One day, an old man was plowing a rice field near the river by swinging a heavy hoe. He heard, “Yappity yap,” the scream of a fox. When he went down to the river to see ‘what in the world it would be,’ the fox child was caught in the water and struggling to get out. The old man felt pity for the fox child. He said, “I will help you get out” and pulled the fox child out of the river.

That night, the old man heard some sounds outside his house and  felt uneasy . When he opened the door, he found a big surprise. There were piles of firewood left there. The fox child who he saved during the day came with his fox parents to bring such firewood to thank him.

Three days passed after that. The old man was again plowing the rice field near the river. When he was resting on a dike after some work, it suddenly started to get dark around him. He was so surprised and looked around, saying, “What is happening?” He realized that it was a trick done by the fox parents and fox child.

The old man walked through the darkness with shaky legs and reached the fox cave. He strongly scolded the fox parents and fox child, saying, “I saved you from the river. You ungrateful foxes!”

That night the old man fell fast asleep because of the fatigue of the hard work during the day. The next morning, he woke up and found another big surprise. Those huge piles of firewood were all gone. It looked as though the scolded fox parents and fox child had taken them away. The old man murmured, “I shouldn’t have scolded them. I am the loser after all.”

The end.