The Dog and the Cherry Blossom

18 The Dog and the Cherry Blossom A long time ago in Japan, there lived a good man and his wife. They had a little dog that they loved very much. But their mean neighbour threw stones at the little dog. One day, the dog was digging in the yard, so the good man came out to see what was the matter. When he saw what the dog was doing, he said, “ I will get my shovel and help you, little dog. " Soon his shovel struck something. He reached into the hole and found a box filled with fine gold. The mean man saw this and was jealous. He asked his neighbour to lend him the dog. The mean man yelled, “ Dig here and find some gold for me. " The little dog started to dig, but turned up nothing but garbage. " You stupid dog, " said the mean man, striking the dog with his shovel and killing it.

The good man was sad. He buried his dog under a small tree. The tree stretched high to the sky in only a few years. So the man's wife said, “ Let us cut this tree down and make a wooden bowl. We will make some rice cakes for our little dog, for he always loved rice cakes. " As they pounded the rice into cakes in the bowl, the rice turned to gold. The good man and his wife became rich. The mean neighbour borrowed the bowl and began to pound rice in it, but he found only smelly garbage. The man burned the bowl in anger. The kind man came and took the ashes and spread them under a cherry tree in his yard. It was winter and as you know, cherry trees do not blossom in winter. But right away, this tree put out the most beautiful flowers. Everyone in the land heard about this, and came to see the tree blooming out of season. The prince had a sick and dying cherry tree that he loved dearly. He asked if he might borrow some of the ashes. The good man agreed. When the prince spread the ashes under his tree, it came back to life and the flowers were splendid. The prince was so happy. He made the good man and his wife even richer. He also made them honoured in the land.