Spendor of Okinawa Bonus: A story from the Ryukyu Kingdom
The Bamboo Flute Long ago in a village at the foot of Mount Onna, there lived a kind-hearted old man. One day, on his way out to work in the fields, he came across a group of children who had caught a mouse and were playing around poking it with a stick. Feeling sorry for the mouse, the old man said, “Hey, if you kill a living thing, God will punish you. Come on, let it go!” And so the mouse’s life was spared. Some time passed and then one day, when the old man had gone off to the fields to work and was eating his rice ball for lunch, a mouse showed up as if out of nowhere and bowed his head deeply. “Thank you for helping me the other day. I owe my life to you. I’d like to return the favor, so please come to my home,” the mouse said. The old man replied, “Oh,at first, I didn’t realize who you were. I’m so delighted you’re okay,” and gently stroked the mouse’s head. The mouse chirped happily, “Choo-choo-choo!”, and said, “Please grab hold of my tail and close your eye...