The neighbour went to the old couple and pretended to weep before them. “I took very good care of your dog, unfortunately your dog just fell dead. As soon as I came to know about this, I came to tell you this.”
The old couple wept bitterly on knowing this.
They brought the body of the dog and buried it under the very tree that they had found the treasure.
Every morning the old man and his wife mourned over their loss and nothing that anyone said comforted them.
One night when the old man was asleep he had a dream of his dog. The dog told him to cut down the tree which was over his grave and the dog asked the old man to make a mortar out of the wood.
But the old man was not willing to cut down the tree.
Not knowing what to do he consulted his wife.
The old man’s wife however thought differently. She was sure that their beloved dog was trying to communicate to them from beyond the grave and the dog was trying to help them from there.
So after much deliberation the old man and his wife cut down the tree and made a mortar from it.
The season for the rice crop to be gathered came when the old couple brought the mortar down and used it to pound the grains.
They were shocked when all the grains turned into gold pieces.
At the sight of all the gold the hearts of the old couple became very happy and they felt more love for their faithful dog.
Naturally when the neighbour came to know about this he came to the old couple and asked their mortar from them.
The old couple did not want to part with the mortar but as usual the neighbor nagged them to no end.
Finally the old couple gave them the mortar.
This time The neighbour brought the mortar to his home and ground some rice grains with it.
The rice grains turned into horrible smelling berries.
The smell from the berries was so horrible that the neighbour almost ran away from there.
The neighbour was angry that this plan too had been foiled and he smashed the mortar and burnt it.
Adapted from Japanese Folk Tales
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