Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/214



a little house at the edge of a village lived a widow with her only son, and they were very happy together. The son was kind to his mother, and they made their living by growing rice in clearings on the mountain side and by hunting wild pig in the forest.

One evening when their supply of meat was low, the boy said:

"Mother, I am going to hunt pig in the morning, and I wish you would prepare rice for me before daylight."

So the widow rose early and cooked the rice, and at dawn the boy started out with his spear and dog.

Some distance from the village he entered the thick forest. He walked on and on, ever on the lookout for game, but none appeared. At last, when he had travelled far and the