Impressed letters

Impressed letters

Long long ago, there lived a young lady and her grandmother in a village.

The young lady had been working in the next town for a long time.
She did not write to her grandmother because she had never learned how to write.

Though the grandmother had felt lonely so much and wanted to write to her, she couldn’t.
In fact she never learned how to write, either.
“What shall I do?” she thought for a while.
One day a man going to the town visited her house and said to her.
“Don’t you have any message to your granddaughter?”
“Of course I have. Please wait a minute while I draw on a paper.” said she, drawing something on a paper.

“Would you hand this letter to my granddaughter?” said she and handed a letter.
While going to the town, he said to himself,
“Well, I know she doesn’t know the letters. What did she write on this paper?” and he had a glimpse of it.

“Oh. What is it?” He found strange pictures on it, where five eggs and five chickens were drawn.

He visited a house in which the lady had been working.
“I brought you a letter from your grandmother.” said he, handing the letter.

“Thanks a lot.” said she, opening the letter and nodding.
“Eggs are five(Itutu=when). Chickens are hatched(Kaeru=come home). So it means ‘When do you come home?’”
“Oh, I see!” said the man, so impressed by the letter.
“Well, would you mind sending my answer to my grandmother?” asked the lady.
“Of course not.” He got the letter.
While coming back to the village, he said to himself,
“Well, I know she doesn’t know the letters. What did she write on this paper?” and he had a glimpse of it.

“Oh. What is it?” He found strange pictures on it, where Kadomatu(New Year’s decorative pine branches) and two fingers and a frog were drawn.

The old woman was so glad to get the letter from her granddaughter.
“What is written on the letter?” asked the man.
“Kadomatu means ‘New Year’. Two fingers ‘Ni(on)’. Frog ‘Kaeru(come home)’.
So it means ‘I’ll come home on New Year.’” said the woman, smiling.
“Oh, I see!” said the man, so impressed again by the letter.

The end