Once upon a time, there lived an amiable old couple in the countryside of Japan. Although they work hard, they are still very poor and barely have enough to eat. One day, the old woman told her husband: "Honey, the Chinese New Year is coming tomorrow, but look at our rice vat! There is only a little bit of glutinous rice left, which is just enough to make a small rice ball." What should I do if this continues?" At this time, the old woman's face showed an expression of sadness and disappointment, and she was not happy that the New Year was coming.
But the old woman immediately became optimistic again. She said: "Honey! Even though I only have this rice, I can still make a delicious rice ball!"
My husband also felt very happy after hearing this. But while they were talking, there was a group of little mice in the mouse hole in the corner of the house, crying and crying around their mother. Because their stomachs were so hungry that they couldn't bear it, they clamored for food from their mother. But the mother mouse really couldn't do anything, so the little mice started to cry "squeak! squeak!"
The old woman and her husband were very sad to see this situation. "How pitiful! I'd better give you this glutinous rice! Don't cry anymore! Make delicious rice cakes with these glutinous rice and welcome the New Year!" The old man gave the glutinous rice to these hungry people. mouse.
The mice were very happy to get these glutinous rice, so they quickly ground the glutinous rice into ingredients for cakes. The little mice "bump! bang!" were beating the rice cakes, preparing to make sweet and delicious rice cakes.
When the old father-in-law and the old woman were eating porridge, they saw the little mice bringing many leaves that could be made into bamboo hats and came to them. The mother mouse said: "The children have received the glutinous rice as a reward and want to repay you and your wife for their great kindness. Now that we have moved these leaves, please collect them. It may be helpful to you. Please do not collect them with disdain." Come down!" The old couple was very happy when they saw so many leaves.
The old woman looked at these leaves, suddenly thought of an idea, and hurriedly told her husband.
"Honey, look at there are so many leaves, why don't we weave these leaves into bamboo hats? In this way, we can sell them on the street and buy some glutinous rice! What do you think?"
"What a great idea!" replied the old man. So they started to make bamboo hats. When the little mice saw it, they all ran out to help.
With great difficulty, they finally completed five bamboo hats, so my husband said:
"This can be sold on the street. When I make money and come back, I will buy some glutinous rice, carrots and vegetables!"
The old woman folded the bamboo hats and gave them to her husband to carry, so the old man left the house and went to the street to sell bamboo hats while the old woman and the little mice said goodbye. The snow was falling heavily at this time, and a thick layer had accumulated on the ground.
"Honey! You have to take good care of yourself and be careful on the road!"
Not long after, the old father-in-law saw six people standing in front of him. He walked forward and took a look:
"Ah! It turns out to be Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva! Why is there so much snow on his head?" So the old man started to wave the snow off the heads of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
"My old father-in-law is going to sell bamboo hats on the street. When my old father-in-law makes money, he will go back and buy some glutinous rice to make rice cakes to offer to the Bodhisattvas. But now I can only use the snow to make snowballs to offer to the Bodhisattvas. Please bear with me, Bodhisattvas. "
After the old man finished speaking, he picked up the snow on the ground, made snowballs and placed them one by one in front of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. He prayed devoutly silently for a while and saw that it was getting late, so he packed up his gear and set off quickly.
The old father-in-law came to the busy street with people coming and going. At this time, the whole street is full of customers busy buying new year's goods.
"Come on! Come on! There are carrots and white radish! There are also top-quality vegetables and fruits! There is everything you need, please hurry up and buy it!"
The sounds of hawking came and went. Seeing these vendors selling vegetables and rice shouting so enthusiastically, my husband also shouted: "Want to buy a high-quality bamboo hat? Come and buy it! A high-quality bamboo hat!"
Even though my old father-in-law was selling hard, who would buy a bamboo hat on such a New Year's Eve? After waiting for a long time, no one came. Almost everyone went out wearing hats because the snow was really heavy.
"Oh! If we can't sell it anymore like this, I don't even have to buy glutinous rice, vegetables and carrots. The old lady will be very disappointed if she sees me going back empty-handed!" The old man sighed, looking at the hurried passers-by in a daze. , I have no idea at all.
I don't know how long I stood like this. The sun had set and the sky was getting dark.
The rice and vegetable vendors also closed their doors and prepared to go home for the New Year. After some time, the pedestrians on the street gradually dispersed, leaving only the silent street.
Disappointed and tired, the old father-in-law walked back to the road covered with thick snow with heavy steps. At this time, the old father-in-law heard the sound of ringing bells from the temple, "Boom! Boom!" The moon also rose.
"The temple bells are ringing, this year is over. I hope next year will be a good year." The old man prayed silently in his heart.
The old father-in-law walked alone, and finally reached the vicinity of the village.
When the old father-in-law raised his head and saw Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the daytime, snow covered their heads again. So the old father-in-law stretched out his frozen hands and began to clear the snow on their heads one by one. At this time, the old father-in-law was so hungry that he had no strength at all.
"O Bodhisattva! I haven't sold a single bamboo hat today. I wanted to buy some rice cakes to support you, but I can't do it now. Please forgive me! Now there are only these bamboo hats left. If you don't mind, let me Come and wear it for the Bodhisattvas!"
The old father-in-law then put the hats on one by one for Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and tied the belts. But in the end, one hat was missing. It turned out that the leaves given by the little mice were only enough to make five bamboo hats. Now there are six Bodhisattvas. What should we do now?
The six Bodhisattvas are really a headache for my husband. Five bamboo hats and six Bodhisattvas are really giving me a headache. The old man finally decided to take off the cloth from his head. When he took off his turban, it was soaked with snow.
"I have no choice but to ask the Bodhisattva to forgive me." In this way, the heads of the six Bodhisattvas no longer need to be frozen by the snow. So the old man squatted on the ground, kneaded the snow into six snowballs, and enshrined them one by one. In front of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and then went home.
Even his turban was given to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s old father-in-law, and his head was covered in white with snow. He said loudly:
"Old lady! I'm back!" The old lady hurriedly ran out from inside
"Thank you for your hard work, my wife. Are all those bamboo hats sold out?"
"All of them are gone." The old man replied. The old father-in-law told the old woman in detail what happened today, and was worried that the old woman would lose her temper.
However, unexpectedly, the old lady laughed and was not angry at all. The old father-in-law felt strange.
"This is a good thing! Why should I be angry when you do such a good thing? With such a heavy snowstorm outside, you must be frozen, right? Come to the stove to warm yourself, don't freeze your body." The old woman said.
At this time, the mice who had followed the old woman out to greet her were very disappointed at first, but in the end they laughed after hearing what the old woman said.
"This is a New Year without rice cakes." The old man said to the old woman and the little mice.
As a result, the old couple still only ate some pickled vegetables, mixed with porridge, and grunted to welcome their New Year. At this time, my old father-in-law had a new idea. He said:
"Although there is no glutinous rice, we can still pretend that we are making rice cakes now." So he patted his knees with his palms, and the old woman also pretended to knead the rice cakes and began to learn the movements of making rice cakes.
At this moment, bursts of "Hey yo! Hey yo!" suddenly came from outside. It seemed like someone was pulling the sled, and the sound of squealing was heard by both the old woman and the old man at the same time. They thought it was strange, who else would be working outside on a cold night like this? Why not go out and have a look. My husband was just about to stand up when suddenly he heard someone speaking again:
"Where is the old man who helped me put on my bamboo hat? Where is the kind old man?"
It turns out that these are the six Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas who were put on bamboo hats and turbans by my husband today. They pulled a large sleigh slowly towards the husband's house. There are a lot of glutinous rice, carrots and vegetables, miso and so on on the sled.
They came to the place where the husband lived.
"My old father-in-law's home has arrived, and my kind-hearted old father-in-law lives here." After the Bodhisattvas finished speaking, strangely enough, the sleigh loaded with food stopped just in front of the old father-in-law's house.
Then, the Bodhisattvas moved the rice and vegetables off the sled: "Hey! Hey!" They shouted rhythmically: After all the food was moved down, they walked back to the original road.
The old father-in-law and the old woman opened the door, but at that moment, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had disappeared, leaving only traces of the sleigh. Both the father-in-law and the old woman were stunned by these sudden events and were at a loss what to do.
In front of me are mountains of food. Facing the things given by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the old father-in-law and the old woman both clasped their hands together in worship.
"Thank you Bodhisattva for the reward. The gift given by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for a few bamboo hats is really too heavy. I lie to Bodhisattva to thank you."
The old father-in-law and the old lady worked together with the mouse family to move these gifts into the house. At this time, the old woman took out all the utensils that had accumulated thick dust and prepared to make some delicious rice cakes.
My husband and his wife had a very sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner. They also called all the nearby foxes, bears, and rabbits to enjoy the dinner together.
The old woman's craftsmanship is very good, but because her family is poor, she has never had the opportunity to show off her skills. Now that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has rewarded her with so many things, she has the opportunity to show off her skills. The little animals sang happily while enjoying the food. They sang and danced to welcome the new year.
The old father-in-law and the old woman were very grateful for the food given by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, so they braved the wind and snow to come to the Bodhisattva with many delicious rice cakes and food.
This time, the old father-in-law and the old woman respectfully offered the food in front of the Bodhisattvas.
The old father-in-law clasped his hands together and prayed silently: "Bodhisattva! Thank you so much for your reward for allowing us to have a prosperous New Year!" The old father-in-law looked up at the Bodhisattva, and all the Bodhisattvas seemed to be smiling.
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