Once upon a time, an old man lived in the mountains of Japan’s Higo province. He made his living by cutting down firewood in the mountains and then selling it in the town of Seki. One day, there were no customers and he could not buy any wood. Finally, he went to the river bridge that ran through the middle of the town. He walked on the bridge from one side to the other trying to sell the wood, but there wasn’t a single person who would buy it. Tired, he sat at the middle of the bridge to rest. Feeling annoyed, he threw the bundles of wood into the river. Then, he prayed to the river goddess and started walking home.
Little Runny-nose Boy
As soon as the old man started walking, a beautiful woman appeared out of the deep waters and asked the old man to stop. She was carrying a little child on her arm. “You are an honest person and work hard every day,” she said. She continued, “The river goddess is very pleased with you. Today you have offered your firewood to her. She wants to reward you. Take this child as a reward. He is called Little Runny-nose Boy. He will give you whatever you wish for, but, in exchange, you must prepare for him a dish of fresh shrimp served with vinegar three times a day.” The woman handed over the child to the old man and sank again to the bottom of the river. Feeling happy, the old man carried Little Runny-nose Boy to his home.
The New Home
After reaching home, the old man kept the child on his altar shelf and took great care of him. Whether it was money or something to eat or anything else whatever the old man asked for, the Little Runny-nose Boy would get for him. He would just blow his nose and the things would appear before the old man’s eyes. Once, the old man said, “This house is too small and dirty. Please bring a cleaner and a bigger home for me.” Little Runny-nose Boy blew his nose and a fine house came forth. It was a bigger and a better house than the old man had wished for. Gradually, the home became bigger, a store house appeared and there were all kinds of furnishings. Within a month, the old man became rich. He no longer had to go to cut firewood. His only work was to buy shrimp for the Little Runny-nose Boy.
Little Runny-nose Boy Disappears
As months passed by, this single work of collecting shrimp became bothersome for the old man. Finally, he picked up the Little Runny-nose Boy from the altar shelf and said, “Little Runny-nose Boy, you have given me everything and now there is nothing I could ask for. Please go back to the river goddess. Give her my kind regards.” On hearing this, the Little Runny-nose Boy went out without uttering a word. For some time he could be heard outside, blowing his nose. Meanwhile, the store house, all the things in the house and the house itself started disappearing. Ultimately, an old dirty house stood in front of the old man. Like a madman, he rushed out to bring Little Runny-nose Boy back. But he was nowhere to be found.
