Gonbei and ducks

2014年01月27日

Gonbei and ducks

Grateful Crane
Long long ago, there was a duck hunter called “Gonbei” in a village.
One summer day, he was thinking about how to catch a hundred ducks at a time.
A good idea occurred to him.
He tied a bean to the top of a long rope and threw it into a pond and waited for ducks to fly down on the pond.
Soon one duck found the bean and swallowed it, which came out of the anus of the bird.
Another duck found the bean and swallowed it, which came out of the anus of the bird.
The other ducks found the bean and swallowed it, which came out of the anus of the birds.
In the next morning he found a hundred ducks sleeping on the pond, strung together.
Hearing his footstep, the hundred ducks woke up and flew up to the sky.
“Wait, I’ll never miss you.” said he, clinging to the rope.
The ducks were flying over clouds, with Gonbei having the rope.
He released the rope, tired and stood on a cloud, where the God of thunder was sleeping.
The God woke up and said to him, taking out a gourd.
“I’m going to give a shower to the villagers below from now.
Why don’t you help me with my job?
This gourd has water in it.
No matter how much you use it, you’ll never use up the water.”
Whenever the God made the lightning of thunder, he dropped the water below to the villagers, who were much pleased at the rain, looking up at the sky.
Gonbei on the cloud was much enjoying his job until he slipped and fell down to …the ground.
Falling down from the sky, he plunged into the underworld, where the God of earthquake was sleeping and woke up at the sound.
“It’s a good time for you to come to me. Why don’t you help me with my job? Help me shake the pillar over there.”
He helped the God to shake the pillar.
“It’s an earthquake.”
“Wake up. My Dad. It’s morning.”
He woke up to find his wife shaking him.
He was holding his pillow tightly and his bed was wet with his sweat.
It was a summer dream.

The end