Page:Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan.pdf/82

68 *Asa.—Yes, Sir; therefore I had to go out to earn my rice. I had to work very hard, even to the day before my child was born. Poor as I am, that baby was very dear to me. Though I could not give it enough milk, it would smile and look up into my eyes, and it made me so happy that I often pressed it to my breast and kissed it
 * Koyama.—Yes, I understand.
 * Asa.—But I knew that, if I spent my time in caring for two children, we must all starve. I could not bear it, for the old man and the sick child must be cared for too.
 * Koyama.—I see. So you killed the child, so that you could work.
 * Asa.—Yes, the baby was a drag, and it prevented me from working.
 * Koyama.—Now, I begin to understand …. Ah…. (He sighs.)
 * Asa.—Oh, please forgive me, Sir.
 * Koyama.—But you did not realise that once you had killed your child you would be punished?
 * Asa.—Yes, I did think, but I was distracted ….
 * Koyama.—Why did you destroy it in such a cruel way?
 * Asa.—I could not help it.
 * Koyama.—You could have given the child to someone else to to [sic] look after; many women would have been glad to take it from you.
 * Asa.—Give it to someone else? How could I do such a thing without money? You know that there is no one that will take a child unless he gets money.