Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/120

104 the secret of this marvelous water of life, and if possible to become one of them; so he started out on his quest.

He traveled, and traveled, climbing to the peaks of the highest mountains, and wandering through unknown regions, but meeting with no success.

At last it seemed to him that he was wasting time, so he decided to go straight to the shrine of Jofuku, to whom he would pray for assistance in his search.

He went to the temple devoted to this deity, and every day for a month he knelt there, and made his entreaty.

At the end of this time, while kneeling before the shrine, he was suddenly enveloped in a cloud, and when this cleared away he saw Jofuku himself standing before him.

Opulo bowed his head to the ground, and Jofuku said to him, "Your request is selfish and therefore hard to grant. You imagine that you would like to become a hermit such as those you seek, and so partake of the Elixir of Life. A hermit's life is a hard one and not suited to an idle man who is used to enjoy every possible comfort. To