Page:Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan.pdf/142

126 “Beat these two animals, you devils. Beat them until all their flesh and bones are crushed to pulp!”

At his command the devils sprang up and seizing whips made of the hardest iron, began to beat the horses most unmercifully. Their whips whistled as they passed through the air, and the lashes descended upon the poor animals one after another. The animals—his parents who had taken the form of horses—writhed in agony, and shedding tears of blood, they screamed so hideously that it was horrible to hear.

“How now? Won’t you speak?”

Yama ordered the devils to cease their beating for a minute, and again pressed Tu Tzuchun to answer. The two horses lay gasping for breath, and their flesh, cut to the bone, was dripping with blood. Their bones were so broken and crushed that they both lay in a pool of gore at the foot of the throne.

Tu Tzuchun desperately kept his eyes closed firmly remembering the old man’s warning. He remained like this for a few moments, until a very faint voice, as soft as breathing, came to his ears.

“Never worry about us. Our suffering does not matter at all. Nothing could make us more contented than to know that you are happy. If you wish, keep silence, however hard the king may press you.”

The voice that spoke was without doubt the loving voice of his dear mother. Tu Tzuchun involuntarily opened his eyes, and saw that one of the wretched horses lying at his feet had its eyes intensely fixed upon him. The expression on her face showed no sign of