Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. They kept a shop and were engaged in preparing and selling tofu (Tofu is cottage cheese made from soybeans.).
They had no children; The loneliness of the old people was brightened up by the dog Ongoro and the cat Nengoro. The owners loved them like their own children.
One day the old man went to a field where beans grew and saw a barely alive snake there. The snake looked so pitiful that the old man picked it up and took it home. He gave him the nickname Noro.
“Well, our family has grown,” said the old man. “And you, Ongoro and Nengoro, look like you’re friends with Noro!”
The owners carefully looked after their pets and fed them plenty. Noro grew quickly and became a surprisingly large snake. He had a peaceful disposition and did not harm anyone, but the neighbors were afraid of the huge snake and stopped coming to the shop. Things went from bad to worse for the old man and the old woman. After consulting, they decided, no matter how sorry it was, to take Noro to his previous place.
The next day the old man took the grass snake and went to the bean field. “Noro, Noro, it’s very sad that this is happening, but nothing can be done.” Crawl wherever you want and don’t remember us badly!
The old man spoke to Noro as if he were a person. And he looked at him, ducked into the hole and pulled out a small box.
“Grandfather, grandfather, in gratitude for the troubles that I have caused you, accept this box from me.” “She will give you everything you want,” Noro said and disappeared underground.
The delighted old man returned home. “Old woman, old woman, look what a wonderful little thing Noro gave us.” What do you want now?
“I want fish with rice.” Before the old woman had time to finish speaking, hot, steamed rice and delicious boiled fish appeared on the table.
Since then, as soon as the old people wished for anything, nothing was denied to them, and they lived happily ever after.
One day the old woman said to the old man: “The box we received from Noro brought prosperity to our house, but we still feel sad and lonely because we have no children.” Ask the box to give us a son and let him be eighteen years old right away.
- What? Do you want a son? — the old man shook his head. “You shouldn’t wish for too much.” And so we always have all sorts of dishes for dinner, even while they’re still warm. Isn't this enough for us?
But the old woman didn’t want to hear anything and kept repeating her thoughts: “No matter what you say, I still won’t calm down.” She covered the box with a piece of cloth and began to say:
- Give us a son-heir! And what would you think? The fabric began to flutter, and at the same moment an eighteen-year-old youth appeared in front of them. The old woman cried with joy:
- Oh, thank you, thank you! Now I will live out my life in peace. But my son turned out to be completely different from what a good son should be: he never called the old people father and mother, he ate himself to his fill with the delicious foods that the box delivered, he was idle and did not give anyone peace. And all the old people doted on him.
“We can’t force him to call us father and mother,” they said, “and the rest will all work out gradually.”
It so happened that one day the old man and the old woman left their son to look after the house, and they themselves went to the city. Returning home, they found neither their son nor the priceless box.
Both their legs gave way, they fell to the floor and were not even able to cry. Ongoro and Nengoro could not indifferently look at the old people, who somehow immediately became weak and decrepit.
“Of course, this wretch stole the wonderful box! We must find it and thereby thank the owners for their care,” they decided and began the search.
They could be spotted during the day, so they only had to go out at night. With their eyes glowing in the dark, they searched every house in the village, but found nothing.
Then Ongoro and Nengoro began to scour the reeds and coastal shallows, but all their efforts remained unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the rainy season began. Ongoro and Nengoro, soaking wet, continued their search and reached Noshiro (Noshiro is a city at the mouth of the Eneshiro River, in Akita Prefecture (northern part of Honshu Island).)
Then they noticed a completely new house on the other side of the river. “Where did it come from? Strange!” they thought, and at night they slowly crossed the river.
This new house belonged to a fugitive. On the shrine stood a wonderful box, guarded by a white mouse. Nengoro attacked the mouse, and Ongoro grabbed the box and ran away.
Having run to the shore, they saw that the dams had been broken and the water in the river was rising every minute.
- Ongoro, what should we do? - If we hesitate, we will be left without the box. Bravely, forward! And they, risking their lives, rushed into the muddy stream and swam. A strong current carried them away, and there was a moment when it seemed to them that the end had come, but then out of nowhere the roof of a barn appeared floating along the river. They climbed onto it, but at that moment the box, their treasure, was washed away by the wave.
For several days, the discouraged Ongoro and Nengoro rushed along the waves. With great difficulty they then found their way home.
The day they reached land was a market day. A brisk trade was going on in the rows of shops.
- Ongoro, look how big the crucian carp is! Let's bring it to the old people as a gift!
With these words, Nengoro grabbed the fish and began to run at full speed. Amazed by his action, Ongoro rushed after him.
They got to the house, but there was no one there: the old man and the old woman went out somewhere. The friends hung the fish on a hook near the fireplace and, exhausted from the long journey, fell into a deep sleep.
They did not wake up: when the old man and the old woman returned, Ongoro and Nengoro were dead.
- You’ve finally returned - so what? They returned to die...The old men Ongoro and Nengoro buried them with tears. What was to be done with the fish brought as a gift? The old people decided to eat it. They took the crucian carp off the hook, ripped open its belly - and suddenly their precious box fell out!
And the old people lived quietly and modestly. The box gave them every day as much rice, fish and seasoning as they wanted, and they did not ask for more.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru