The Sparrow and the Old Couple

There lived an old man who loved and nurtured a little sparrow at his home. The old man's wife was however a cruel lady. 

Once when the old man was not at home the sparrow tasted and pecked on the starching paste that the woman had kept for her own linen clothes. 

The old woman was very angry with what the sparrow had done and she cut the tongue of the sparrow and threw it out of the house. 

The old man came back home and was shocked to find his lovely little bird missing. 

When he asked his wife, the old woman told him what she had done.

Sadly the old man went everywhere to find his lost sparrow.

Finally at the base of a particular hill the old man found the little bird. 

The sparrow took the old man to his home where the sparrow now had a wife and little chicks. 

The sparrow happily entertained the old man and took good care of the old man. The old man then insisted that he had to go home. 

The sparrow offered two baskets to the old man and asked him to choose one of the baskets. One of the baskets was heavy whereas the other was light. 

The old man realizing that he was frail and could not carry the heavy basket down to his home, he picked the light basket and happily bade goodbye to the Sparrow and went back to his home. 

The old woman was angry with the old man and wanted to know where he had gone for all these days. 

When the old man had told her everything the old woman decided to go and find the sparrow herself and get the heavier basket. 

The old woman traveled to the same hill, found the sparrow and forced the sparrow to entertain her too. 

At the end of her visit she asked the sparrow to give her something as a remembrance of her visit. 

As usual the sparrow brought out the two baskets in front of her. 

The sly old woman took the heavier basket and walked down to her home. 

On opening the heavy basket at her home she found that it was filled with ghosts and elves who troubled the old woman for the rest of her life. 

The old man on the other hand, adopted a son and lived a rich and prosperous life.

Adapted from folk stories of Japan