The Envious Neighbour

In the distant past, an upright man and his wife coexisted. They had a pet dog, which they used to feed with fish and vegetables.

snippet from their personal kitchen. The dog joined the elderly couple one day when they walked outside to work in their yard and started playing. The dog abruptly stopped and started to yelp, "Bow, wow, wow!" while wagging his tail furiously.

The elderly individuals brought a spade and started digging since they reasoned that there must be something tasty to eat beneath the surface. Then, lo and behold! The area was filled with silver and gold coins, as well as other valuable items that had been buried there.They therefore gathered the treasure and, after paying alms to the needy, purchased rice and maize fields for themselves, becoming rich people.

Now, a greedy and frugal elderly couple lived next door. When they learned what had happened, they came and borrowed the dog from the neighbour, brought him home, prepared a lavish feast for him, and said, "If you please, Mr. Dog, we would be much obliged if you could show us a place with plenty of money in it."

Nevertheless, the dog, who up until that point had only been subjected to cuffs and kicks from his hosts, refused to eat any of the finger foods that were placed before him. As a result, the elderly couple became irate and tied a rope around the dog's neck before leading him into the garden. But it was all in vain; he let them lead him wherever they pleased, and the dog made no sound.

He didn't bow down to them. But eventually, the dog came to a stop and started to sniff. They dug because they believed this must be the lucky location and discovered just a lot of dirt and foul offal, which they had to hold their noses over. 

The evil old couple, incensed by being let down, grabbed the dog and slaughtered him.

When the good old man noticed that the dog he had lent had not returned, he went next door to inquire about him. When the wicked old man replied that he had killed the dog and buried him at the root of a pine tree, the good old man went to the location with a heavy heart and set out a tray with delicious food, burned incense, and decorated the grave with flowers while sobbing over his lost pet.

After praising him for all his kindness, the dog appeared to the wonderful old guy that night when he was sound sleeping in bed and instructed him to use the pine tree that he was buried beneath as a mortar while acting as though it were himself.

The elderly man fashioned a mortar out of pine tree wood as the dog had instructed him to do, but when he ground his rice in it, each grain of rice transformed into a valuable treasure.

When the evil old couple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar. However, as soon as they tried to use it, all of their rice turned into sludge. As a result, they were furious and destroyed the mortar and set it on fire.

The decent old guy, however, was perplexed as to why his neighbours did not return his priceless mortar to him after it had been smashed and set on fire.

The dog reappeared to him in a dream one night and explained what had transpired, as well as the fact that withered trees would suddenly sprout blossoms if he sprinkled the ashes of the burned mortar on them.

After saying this, the dream disappeared. The elderly man then learned for the first time that his mortar had been lost, and he hurried outside in tears to his neighbours' house, where he asked them to at least give him back the ashes of his treasure.

After obtaining it, he went back home and tested their efficacy on a cherry tree that had wilted. When the tree was touched by the ashes, it instantly started to grow and bloom. He placed the ashes in a basket after observing this marvellous result and set out for the countryside, proclaiming himself to be an elderly man with the ability to revive dead trees.

When a specific prince learned of this and thought it was quite weird, he sent for the elderly man, who displayed his strength by causing all of the dead plum and cherry trees to sprout forth and produce blooms. The prince then sent him home in joy after rewarding him richly with pieces of silk, fabric, and other gifts.

The moment the neighbours learned of this, they gathered all the remaining ashes and put them in a basket. Then, the evil old man went out into the castle town and claimed to be the guy with the ability to bring back dead trees to life and cause them to bloom. Soon after, he was summoned into the prince's palace and told to demonstrate his strength.

But, not a single blossom or flower appeared when he climbed up a dead tree to scatter the ashes; instead, the ashes all flew into the prince's eyes and mouth, blinding and strangling him. When the prince's bodyguards noticed this, they grabbed the elderly guy and beat him nearly to death till he crawled away to his home in a very miserable state. He and his wife reprimanded themselves after realising the trap they had fallen into.

When the nice old man and lady learned of their neighbours' plight, they immediately sent for them, reprimanded them for their cruelty and greed, and then gave them a portion of their own wealth, which had grown to a respectable amount due to numerous lucky breaks. The old, sinful folks then changed their ways and lived moral lives from then on.