Earth Tibet Bodhisattva with a Hat

Once upon a time there lived an amiable old couple in the Japanese countryside. Although they worked hard, they were still very poor, and they almost didn't eat three meals. One day, the old woman told the old man and said, "My wife, it's New Year's Eve tomorrow, but look at our rice bowl! There is only a little sticky rice left, which is only enough to make a small rice ball. If this goes on, what can I do?" At this time, the old woman's face showed a look of sadness and disappointment, and she was not happy that the new year was coming.

But the old woman immediately became optimistic again. She said, "My wife! Although I only have these rice, I can still make a delicious rice ball!"

The old man was also very happy to hear it. But while they were talking, in the mouse hole in the corner of the house, a group of little mice surrounded the mother mouse and cried non-stop, because their stomachs were so hungry that they clamored for something to eat. But the mother mouse really had nothing to do, so the little mice cried "squeak! squeak!"

The old woman and the old man were also very sad to see this kind of situation. "What a pity! I'll give you this glutinous rice! Don't cry anymore! Make some delicious rice cakes with these glutinous rice to welcome the new year!" The old man gave the glutinous rice to the hungry mice.

The mice were very happy when they got these glutinous rice, so they quickly ground the glutinous rice into rice cakes. The little mice "touch! touch!" beat hard, ready to make sweet and delicious rice cakes.

When the old man and the old woman were eating porridge, they saw the little mice bringing a lot of leaves that could be used as hats and came to them. The mother mouse said, "The children want to repay the kindness of your husband and wife when they get the sticky rice you have rewarded. Now that these leaves have been brought, please collect them, it may be helpful to you. Please accept them without disdain!" The old couple was very happy when they saw so many leaves.

The old woman looked at the leaves, suddenly thought of an idea, and hurriedly told the old man.

"Wife, look at so many leaves, why don't we weave these leaves into hats? In this way, if we sell them on the street, we can also buy some glutinous rice! What do you think?"

"What a great idea!" the old man replied. So they started to weave their hats, and the little mouse ran out to help when he saw it.

Finally, they finally completed the five hats, so the husband was fair:

"So I can sell it on the street. When I get back from making money, I'll stop by and buy some sticky rice, carrots and vegetables!"

The old woman folded the hats and gave them to the old man to carry, so the old man stepped out of the house while the old woman and the little mice said goodbye and went to the street to sell hats. At this time, it snowed heavily, and a thick layer had accumulated on the ground.

"Wife! You have to take good care of yourself, and be careful on the road!"

Not long after, the old man saw six people standing in front of him, and he walked forward and looked:

"Ah! It turned out to be the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva! Why is there snow all over your head?" So the old man started to wave the snow off the heads of the Earth Tibet Bodhisattvas.

"The old man is going to sell hats on the street. When the old man makes money, he will go back and buy some glutinous rice to make rice cakes to feed the Bodhisattvas. But now I can only use these snow to make snowballs to feed the Bodhisattvas. Please be patient!"

After the old man finished speaking, he picked up the snow on the ground, made snowballs one by one, and placed them one by one in front of the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva. He prayed devoutly for a while, and saw that it was getting late, so he tidied up and hurried on his way.

The old man came to the lively street. At this time, the whole street is busy shopping for New Year's goods.

"Come! Come! We have carrots and white radishes! There are also high-quality vegetables and fruits! You have everything, please come and buy it quickly!"

The sound of hawking came one after another. Seeing the hawkers selling vegetables and rice shouting so vigorously, the old man also shouted: "Want to buy a first-class hat? Come and buy it! A first-class hat!"

Although the old man was selling so hard, who would buy a hat on such a New Year's night? After waiting for a long time, no one came. Almost all the people wore hats and went out because the snow was really falling too much.

"Alas! If it can't be sold like this, I don't even think I can buy glutinous rice and vegetables and carrots. The old woman must be very disappointed to see me go back with empty hands!" The old man sighed, staring at the hurried pedestrians in a daze, and there was nothing in his heart.

I don't know how long I stood like this, the sun has gone down, and the sky has darkened.

The rice and vegetable vendors also closed their doors, ready to go home for the Chinese New Year. After a while, the pedestrians on the street gradually dispersed, leaving only the silent streets.

Disappointed and tired, the old man walked back to the snowy road. At this time, the old man heard the sound of ringing the bell from the temple. "Boom! Boom!" The moon also rose.

"The temple bell rang, this year is over. I hope next year will be a good year." The old man prayed silently in his heart.

The old man walked alone, walking, and finally came to the vicinity of the village.

When the old man raised his head and saw the Gizang Bodhisattva during the day, the snow covered their heads again. So the old man stretched out his frozen hands and began to clear the snow on their heads one by one. At this time, the old man was so hungry that he had no strength at all.

"Bodhisattva! The old man didn't sell a single hat today. He wanted to buy some rice cakes to support you, but now he can't. Please forgive me! Now there are only these hats left. If you don't dislike it, let me come and put it on for the Bodhisattvas!"

The old man then put on the bamboo hats one by one to help the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva, and tied the straps. But in the end, one was missing. It turned out that the leaves given by the little mice were only enough to weave five bamboo hats, but now there are six Bodhisattvas. What should I do now?

The six Bodhisattvas are enough for the old man to worry about his brain. Five hats, six Bodhisattvas, what a headache. The old man finally decided to take off the cloth from his head. When he took off his headscarf, the headscarf was already wet from the snow.

"I can't help it, I have to ask the Bodhisattva to feel wronged." In this way, the heads of the six Bodhisattvas no longer have to be frozen by the snow, so the old man squatted on the ground, kneaded the snow into six snowballs, offered them one by one in front of the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva, and went home.

Even his headscarf was given to the old man of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and his head was covered with snow and white. He said loudly:

"Old woman! I'm back!" The old woman hurried out of it

"Please, wife. Are all those hats sold out?"

"They're all gone," the old man replied. The old man told the old woman in detail what happened today, and was worried that the old woman would lose her temper.

However, I didn't expect the old woman to laugh and not be angry at all. The old man felt very strange.

"That's a good thing! How can I be angry that you have done such a good thing? You must be freezing with such a heavy blizzard outside? Come to the fire to keep warm, don't freeze yourself," said the old woman.

At this time, the mice who had come out to greet the old woman were very disappointed at first, but after hearing the old woman's words, they laughed.

"This is a New Year without rice cakes," the old man said to the old woman and the little mice.

As a result, the old couple still only ate some pickled dishes, mixed with porridge, and grunted to welcome their New Year. At this time, the old man had a new idea, he said:

"Although there is no glutinous rice, we can pretend to be making rice cakes now." So he patted his knee with his palm, and the old woman pretended to rub the rice cakes and began to learn the movements of making rice cakes.

At this moment, there were bursts of "Hey-yo! Hey-yo!" voices from outside. It seemed that someone was pulling the sled and drinking hard, and the old woman and the old man heard it at the same time. They thought it was strange, who else would be working outside on a cold night like this? It's better to go out and have a look. The husband was just about to stand up when he suddenly heard someone say again:

"Where is the old man who helped me put on the hat? Where is the kind old man?"

It turned out that these were the six Earth Tibet Bodhisattvas who were put on hats and headscarves by the old man today. They pulled a large sleigh and gradually came to the old man's house. The sleigh was covered with a lot of glutinous rice, carrots, vegetables, miso and so on.

They came to the place where the old man lived.

"The old man's house has arrived, and the kind old man lives here." After the Bodhisattvas finished speaking, it was strange to say that the sleigh full of food just stopped in front of the old man's house.

Then, the Bodhisattvas moved the rice and vegetables off the sleigh: "Hey yo! Hey yo!" They shouted rhythmically: When the food was all moved down, they went back to the original way.

The old man and the old woman opened the door, but at that moment, the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva had disappeared, leaving only traces of the sleigh. The old man and the old woman were stunned by these sudden events and were at a loss.

In front of them were the mountains of food. Facing the things rewarded by Jizang Bodhisattva, the old man and the old woman clasped their palms together in worship.

"Thank you to the Bodhisattva for your reward. The gift given by the Earth Store Bodhisattva for a few hats is really too heavy. Lie to the Bodhisattva."

The old man and the old woman worked together with the mouse family to move these gifts into the house. At this time, the old woman took out the utensils that had accumulated thick dust and prepared to make some delicious rice cakes.

The old man and the old woman had a very sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner. They also called all the foxes, bears and rabbits nearby to enjoy the dinner together.

The old woman's craftsmanship is very good. Just because her family is poor, she has never had the opportunity to show her skills. Now that the Earth Tibet Bodhisattva has rewarded so many things, she has the opportunity to show it. The little animals sang happily while enjoying the food. They just sang and danced to welcome the new year.

The old man and the old woman were very grateful for the food given by the Dizang Bodhisattvas, so they brought a lot of delicious rice cakes and food together, braved the wind and snow, and came to the Bodhisattva.

This time, the old man and the old woman respectfully offered the food in front of the Bodhisattvas.

The old man clasped his hands together and prayed silently: "Bodhisattva! Thank you for your reward for making us have a rich New Year!" The old man looked up at the Bodhisattvas, and the Bodhisattvas seemed to be smiling.