Is fiction a “lie” for you? Even if you read fantastic stories that you think could never have happened, every narrative carries with it the traces of how a society understood the world. This is the case of the legends, fables and popular tales that are passed from generation to generation, transmitting along with the stories a vision of the world.
This Japanese story is an example of that. It will teach you with ingredients typical of fantasy and traditional Japanese mysticism why you should always treat others with value and respect. You never know how mysterious life is to bring back to you a learning that you thought had already been overcome.
Japanese Tale: The Grateful Crane
“One day, a boy who was walking on the mountain heard a sad cry. And when he approached the place where it came from, he saw a crane trapped inside a trap set with ropes.
– Don’t worry, I’m going to save you, just wait a moment.
And as soon as he untied it, the very happy crane flew up into the sky.
The next night someone knocked on the door of the boy’s house. When he slid the door open, he was amazed: a very beautiful young woman was standing there.
– I am alone. Please take me as your wife.
– My house is very poor, sometimes there is no food, don’t you care?
To which the young woman replied:
– If this is the situation, I have an idea. But I ask that while I’m in the next room, you don’t look out or spy for anything in the world.
After a while a very pleasant noise could be heard coming from the room where the young woman had locked herself. After three days, the young woman left carrying three pieces of cloth in her arms.
– These fabrics were worked by me on the loom. Go and offer them to the lord who lives in the castle.
The lord of the castle was delighted with the splendidly shiny fabrics and in return, gave the boy a lot of gifts.
– How fantastic! Just by exchanging these fabrics we can receive treasures. I know it’s a lot of work but I ask you to keep working on the loom to produce more pieces of fabric.
And so, without resting, the girl spent the whole day working, while she grew thinner and weaker. Until one day the boy, who did not perceive how his wife’s health was declining, said to himself:
– How strange, how will you get the threads to make the fabrics? I’m going to spy.
And he was so frightened, because in the room there was a crane that plucked its own feathers to weave the splendid fabrics.
– Wow, even though I warned you so much, you ended up looking inside the room. I can’t do anything else but say goodbye.
– Please, wait, don’t go, I know I acted very badly – the boy shouted.
But it was too late. The crane had unfurled her wings and was ascending into the sky, and in moments she was already flying so far out of sight.”
What other reflection has left you this Japanese story?