キツネとお坊ぼうさんのやさしいお話はなし

Once upon a time, there was a monk in Nakano, Tokyo.

This monk is training, but he feels lonely because there is no one around.

One day, while a monk was making a stone Buddha statue in a field, a fox came along.

The fox stared at the monk for a while and then left.

After that, the fox came again.

The monk gave a persimmon to the fox.

When the fox finished eating, it went back home again.

And then, the fox started coming every day.

The monk shared his food with the fox.

During the day, the fox was always by the monks side, and in the evening, it would go back.

One autumn day, the monk went into town on an errand.

When I came home, the house was on fire, and a fox was waiting for me.

That day, the fox stayed at the monks house.

On a snowy day, the fox said, Teacher, there is rice and red beans in this bag. Please make some porridge.

Since its cold, lets have some rice porridge to warm up.

The monk and the fox happily ate red bean porridge together.

That night, the fox said, I want to repay you for your kindness, sir.

The monk answered, As long as there are no fires, the water is cool in summer, and its warm in winter, thats enough.

Therefore, the water in Nakano is cool in summer and warm in winter, and there are not many fires.