Page:Kwaidan; Stories and Studies of Strange Things - Hearn - 1904.djvu/243



In the province of Taishū, in China, there was a pious man who, every day, during many years, fervently worshiped a certain goddess. One morning, while he was engaged in his devotions, a beautiful woman, wearing a yellow robe, came into his chamber and stood before him. He, greatly surprised, asked her what she wanted, and why she had entered unannounced. She answered: &quot;I am not a woman: I am the goddess whom you have so long and so faithfully worshiped; and I have now come to prove to you that your devotion has not been in vain. … Are you acquainted with the language of Ants?&quot; The worshiper replied: &quot;I am only a low-born and ignorant person,—not a scholar; and even of the language of superior men I know nothing.&quot; At these words the goddess smiled, and drew from her bosom a little box, shaped like an incense box. She opened the box, dipped a finger into it, and took therefrom some kind of ointment with which she anointed the ears of the man. &quot;Now,&quot; she said to him, &quot;try to find some Ants, and when you find any, stoop down, and listen carefully to their talk. You will be able 217