One winter's night the man heard a knocking at his door. Opening it, he beheld a young girl standing in the blowing snow, covered in white from head to foot.
"Oh, my. What are you doing out on a night like this? Do come in."
He stirred up the fire and bade his guest warm herself by the hearth. Looking at the girl more closely, he noticed that one of her feet was bleeding.
"Is your foot hurt?" he inquired.
"Yes, I stepped on a hunter's trap by accident."
"That's rotten luck. Would you like to stay here until it's better?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you ever so much," she replied.
"Look here, dinner's ready. Let's eat."
The old man served the girl a bowl of piping hot fish soup, which she quickly devoured. Then, curling up by the fire, she was soon asleep.
Later that evening, thinking to cover her with a futon for added warmth, the man discovered his visitor was not a young girl but a goose. "So that's how it was. Injured, she became separated from the other geese, and before coming here she changed into a human girl", ran the old man's thoughts. Smiling with this knowledge, he applied a healing salve to his guest's injured foot.
The snowy weather continued, but at last, a day of clear skies dawning, the goose-girl bowed deeply to the old man and said, "For many a day you have treated me with great kindness. Thanks to you, my foot has healed. As I am now able to resume my journey, I will soon be leaving you."
"Is that so? You're going?"
The girl was saddened to perceive how deeply affected the man was by her announcement.
"I've kept a secret from you all this time. The truth is, I'm a goose."
"Ahh. But you see, I knew that," the man replied.
"You did? I'll never forget your kindness."
With that, the girl became a goose again and rose into the sky. After thrice circling above the old man's house, the goose, now a mere speck in the sky, flew northwards.
Then it was spring, then summer, then fall, and the time of year geese begin appearing in the region of Lake Jyusan. When the old man beheld the first geese on their southward journey, he was reminded of his visitor earlier that year.
One day the man noticed a goose veer from its traveling companions and head in his direction. When the goose was overhead, something fell from its bill to the ground. Retrieving the item, the man found it to be a small packet containing some gold dust and a letter. Unfolding the latter the man read, "Thank you, Grandpa, for your many kindnesses. Take care of yourself."
With a tear in his eye, the old man watched the goose until it passed from sight.
"You, too," he said.
| Lake Jyusan, Aomori |
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