Page:Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan, volume 2.pdf/131

Rh board from the boy, he hit him rather violently across the face with it. He noticed that the piece of wood was the same one which his disciple had used before to lift his nose while he was taking his meal.

Somehow, now, the Naigu began to regret that his nose had been shortened.

One night, after the sun had set, a brisk wind rose, and while he lay on his bed there came to his ears the sound of the “futaku” (windbells) which hung outside the temple. They were tinking very loudly. Moreover, the cold was growing intense, and in spite of his wish to sleep, this noise prevented him from even getting a wink of slumber. While he was lying wide awake, he became aware that his nose felt more ticklish than usual. Feeling it with his hands, he felt sure that it was slightly swollen like any nose that is suffering from a severe cold. The likelihood of such a thing happening seemed quite probable to him in such cold weather. He felt that he might even be suffering from a slight fever.

“As I shortened my nose unnaturally, perhaps I am suffering from some kind of sickness!” the Naigu whispered to himself, as he pressed his nose with his hands in a gesture as pious as if he were placing incense or flowers before the shrine of Buddha.

The next morning, rising early as usual, he found that a fig-tree and a horse-chesnutchestnut [sic] tree in the temple-grounds had shed all their leaves during the night, and the garden was strewn with them, giving it the appearance of having been sprinkled with gold. He also