Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/69

Rh "As I have found you here where lies my daily work," said the old man, "I must look upon you as a child sent from Heaven." So, very carefully he took the exquisite little creature home to his wife, and both of them were filled with joy because there was now a child, come to them in a most marvelous manner, upon whom they could devote the love of their old age.

And with the child came good fortune, for from this time the old man found gold and precious stones in the notches of the bamboos when he cut them up, so that before long he was rich enough to retire, and he built a fine house in which they all lived very happily.

The bamboo child was no ordinary child, for in a very few months she was quite grown-up, and so beautiful was she that the old people treated her like a princess, and allowed no one to see her or wait upon her but themselves. Her very presence made them happy, and no trace of sorrow could exist where she was. And wherever she might be a beautiful, soft light made the place radiant. And so they called her