At a teahouse

At a teahouse

Long long ago, there lived a man who worked for a rich family.
He worked hard, but he had a weakness for drinking.
He often went on errands for his master to a neighboring town.
There was a teahouse on the border of the two towns.
That was the place he used to drop in to take a rest on his way back, and if he happened to have a little money for a cup of sake, he enjoyed drinking, and taking a nap for a while.
The hostess of the teahouse used to wake him up, saying,
“It’s getting dark. Wake up, or you’ll be scolded by your master.”
And the man used to say,
“Oh, my God. It was so careless of me to oversleep.”
Then he jumped up and rushed back to town.
One day, after drinking, he was sound asleep on a couch near the entrance of the teahouse as usual.
Then a group of boys came there with some persimmons in their hands.
They started eating persimmons together, and competed to see who could spit the seeds and hit the couch, where the man was lying asleep.
One of the seeds happened to hit the man’s head, and landed in his hair.
A while later, the hostess of the teahouse woke him up, saying,
“It’s getting dark. Wake up, or you’ll be scolded by your master.”
“Oh, my God. It was so careless of me to oversleep.”
He jumped up and rushed back to town with the seed on his head.
Strangely enough, the seed on his head soon sprouted, started growing, and bore some persimmons.
He was pleased to have a tree growing on his head.
A few days later, he visited the teahouse with a persimmon tree on his head.
Pointing to the tree, he said to the hostess,
“Look at the tree on my head. It has some persimmons. They taste good, I assure you. Will you exchange them for a cup of sake?”
“All right,” she said.
After drinking, he fell asleep on the couch as usual.
Then the boys came again.
Pointing to the man, who was lying asleep on the couch, the hostess told them a strange story about the persimmons the man brought her.
The oldest boy said,
“Guys, go get a saw. I’ll saw the tree .”
“That’s a good idea,” they said.
Thus the tree was cut off with a saw, while the man was still fast asleep, and only its stump was left on his head.
A while later the hostess of the teahouse woke him up, saying,
“It’s getting dark. Wake up, or you’ll be scolded by your master.”
“Oh, my God. It was so careless of me to oversleep.”
He jumped up and rushed back to town with the stump on his head.
A few weeks later, he visited the teahouse with the stump on his head.
“Look at the stump on my head.
It has some mushrooms around it.
They taste good, I assure you.
Will you exchange them for a cup of sake?”
“All right, all right,” she said.
After drinking, he fell asleep on the couch as usual.
Then the boys came again.
Pointing to the man, who was lying asleep on the couch, the hostess told them a strange story about the mushrooms the man brought her.
The oldest boy said,
“Guys, go get an ax. I’ll use it to cut off the stump.”
“That’s a good idea,” they said.
The boy worked hard and removed the stump from the man’s head perfectly, while he was still fast asleep.
All the boys were satisfied to see nothing but a big hole left on his head.
A while later the hostess of the teahouse woke him up, saying,
“It’s getting dark. Wake up, or you’ll be scolded by your master.”
“Oh, my God. It was so careless of me to oversleep.”
He jumped up and rushed back to town with the hole on his head.
A few months later, he visited the teahouse with nothing but the hole on his head.
“Look at the hole on my head.
It has some eels in it.
They taste good, I assure you.
Will you exchange them for a cup of sake?”
“All right, all right, all right,” she said.
After drinking, he fell asleep on the couch as usual.
Then the boys came again. Pointing to the man, who was lying asleep on the couch, the hostess told them a strange story about the eels the man brought her.
All the boys were disgusted with him, saying,
“He is a damned fellow! It is no use doing anything to him,” shrugging their shoulders, they disappeared somewhere without doing anything.
The man lived a happy life, exchanging eels for sake to drink, taking naps on the couch, being woken by the hostess, jumping up and rushing back to town.

The end