Once upon a time, a woodcutter returned home early from his work in the forest. He had cut down a great deal of wood, and he was glad to reach home before dark. But just as he was about to walk inside, he heard his wife talking to someone. He peered through the window, and he saw his wife preparing to sell his favorite statue to the local pawnbroker.
The woodcutter was furious. He loved this statue of the goddess Amaterasu, and though the family was poor, his wife had promised she would never sell it.
Brimming with rage, the woodcutter was about to rush inside the house to punish his wife and the merchant for this misdeed, but he suddenly stopped. Amaterasu, after all, is the ruler of the gods, and she rules with warmth and love, wisdom and peace and compassion. So he knew he must follow her teachings. And so he stopped himself and looked down at the ground.
Just then he noticed in his woodpile a knotty piece of wood with a hole in the middle, and this gave him an idea.
He began to make noise, and he called out, "Dear wife, I'm home!"
The wife quickly turned to the pawnbroker and whispered, "Quick, you must hide. It's my husband," and she hurried to hide the pawnbroker in a large wooden chest.
Just as she was closing the lid, the woodcutter walked inside.
"What brings you home so early?" his wife asked, pretending to be innocent.
"I rushed home to show you this gift from the goddess of the forest," and with that he lifted up the wood with the hole in the middle. He leaned forward and said, "The goddess gave me this because I work so hard. It is a Tell Tale."
"What is that?" his wife asked, knitting her brow. She could not imagine.
"When I look through this," the woodcutter said, "I can see everything that is hidden to the naked eye."
"My heavens," said his wife, "that is miraculous."
"Watch how it works," the woodcutter said, and he peered through the hole and walked around the house. When he reached the wooden chest, he said, "My, my, there is something inside this chest. Quick, bring me a rope."
The wife was terribly nervous, but she did as her husband requested, and the woodcutter promptly tied up the chest. "I shall take this to the pawnshop to sell it. There must be something valuable inside, for the Tell Tale never lies!"
And so he hauled the chest off to the pawnshop.
Naturally, the pawnbroker was not there, but his son was, and when the woodcutter showed him the chest, the young man said, "This is worthless!"
"I believe it must be valuable," the woodcutter said, "I'll step outside to give you time to think it over."
The moment the woodcutter walked outside, the pawnbroker whispered from inside the chest, "Give him 50 pieces of gold!" And the son at once recognized his father's voice.
When the woodcutter stepped back inside, the pawnbroker's son paid him, and the woodcutter returned home carrying his sack of gold.
The next morning, the woodcutter's wife told her best friend the story of the magical Tell Tale and, of course, before the day was done, the story had spread far and wide. One neighbor told another, who told another, and soon the story reached a faraway town where a group of priests decided the woodcutter might be able to solve their problem.
They set off at once to visit him, and when they arrived, they explained.
"A thief has stolen all the money from our temple," they said. "We lost everything we had, and we have heard about your magical Tell Tale. We have come to ask your help in finding the thief."
The woodcutter was terribly embarrassed. He didn't dare confess his lie to priests. And so, carrying his Tell Tale, he traveled with them back to their temple. He peered around, walking behind the temple and examining the priests' own statue of Amaterasu in the garden. But the woodcutter saw nothing, and at long last he said, "In three days, I will have your money back." And then he returned home.
Back home he could not sleep. How would he ever find the thief? He lost his appetite. By the second day he was sick with worry, but that night, as he lay awake in bed, he heard someone tapping at his window.
"Who is it?" he asked.
And he heard a deep voice say, "I stole the money from the temple, and I've come to beg you for mercy. I promise to return the money, but please, keep my secret or my family will be ruined!"
The woodcutter had an idea. "I am glad you came to me," he said, "for of course I already knew you were the thief, but I hoped you would repent. This is what you must do. Take the treasure and bury it beneath the statue of Amaterasu behind the temple. And you must promise never to steal again."
The thief agreed, and the next day the woodcutter returned to the priests. "I must look once more," he said, and he took out his Tell Tale and began to search through the temple and out in the garden. At last, he came to the statue of Amaterasu. "Ah-ha!" he cried. "Dig beneath this statue and you shall find your gold!"
The priests dug up the ground, and they found their treasure, and they were so grateful to the woodcutter that they rewarded him with great sacks of gold.
The thief lived an honest life from that day on, and the woodcutter's wife never again kept a secret from her husband. And they all lived happily ever after.
The woodcutter was furious. He loved this statue of the goddess Amaterasu, and though the family was poor, his wife had promised she would never sell it.
Brimming with rage, the woodcutter was about to rush inside the house to punish his wife and the merchant for this misdeed, but he suddenly stopped. Amaterasu, after all, is the ruler of the gods, and she rules with warmth and love, wisdom and peace and compassion. So he knew he must follow her teachings. And so he stopped himself and looked down at the ground.
Just then he noticed in his woodpile a knotty piece of wood with a hole in the middle, and this gave him an idea.
He began to make noise, and he called out, "Dear wife, I'm home!"
The wife quickly turned to the pawnbroker and whispered, "Quick, you must hide. It's my husband," and she hurried to hide the pawnbroker in a large wooden chest.
Just as she was closing the lid, the woodcutter walked inside.
"What brings you home so early?" his wife asked, pretending to be innocent.
"I rushed home to show you this gift from the goddess of the forest," and with that he lifted up the wood with the hole in the middle. He leaned forward and said, "The goddess gave me this because I work so hard. It is a Tell Tale."
"What is that?" his wife asked, knitting her brow. She could not imagine.
"When I look through this," the woodcutter said, "I can see everything that is hidden to the naked eye."
"My heavens," said his wife, "that is miraculous."
"Watch how it works," the woodcutter said, and he peered through the hole and walked around the house. When he reached the wooden chest, he said, "My, my, there is something inside this chest. Quick, bring me a rope."
The wife was terribly nervous, but she did as her husband requested, and the woodcutter promptly tied up the chest. "I shall take this to the pawnshop to sell it. There must be something valuable inside, for the Tell Tale never lies!"
And so he hauled the chest off to the pawnshop.
Naturally, the pawnbroker was not there, but his son was, and when the woodcutter showed him the chest, the young man said, "This is worthless!"
"I believe it must be valuable," the woodcutter said, "I'll step outside to give you time to think it over."
The moment the woodcutter walked outside, the pawnbroker whispered from inside the chest, "Give him 50 pieces of gold!" And the son at once recognized his father's voice.
When the woodcutter stepped back inside, the pawnbroker's son paid him, and the woodcutter returned home carrying his sack of gold.
The next morning, the woodcutter's wife told her best friend the story of the magical Tell Tale and, of course, before the day was done, the story had spread far and wide. One neighbor told another, who told another, and soon the story reached a faraway town where a group of priests decided the woodcutter might be able to solve their problem.
They set off at once to visit him, and when they arrived, they explained.
"A thief has stolen all the money from our temple," they said. "We lost everything we had, and we have heard about your magical Tell Tale. We have come to ask your help in finding the thief."
The woodcutter was terribly embarrassed. He didn't dare confess his lie to priests. And so, carrying his Tell Tale, he traveled with them back to their temple. He peered around, walking behind the temple and examining the priests' own statue of Amaterasu in the garden. But the woodcutter saw nothing, and at long last he said, "In three days, I will have your money back." And then he returned home.
Back home he could not sleep. How would he ever find the thief? He lost his appetite. By the second day he was sick with worry, but that night, as he lay awake in bed, he heard someone tapping at his window.
"Who is it?" he asked.
And he heard a deep voice say, "I stole the money from the temple, and I've come to beg you for mercy. I promise to return the money, but please, keep my secret or my family will be ruined!"
The woodcutter had an idea. "I am glad you came to me," he said, "for of course I already knew you were the thief, but I hoped you would repent. This is what you must do. Take the treasure and bury it beneath the statue of Amaterasu behind the temple. And you must promise never to steal again."
The thief agreed, and the next day the woodcutter returned to the priests. "I must look once more," he said, and he took out his Tell Tale and began to search through the temple and out in the garden. At last, he came to the statue of Amaterasu. "Ah-ha!" he cried. "Dig beneath this statue and you shall find your gold!"
The priests dug up the ground, and they found their treasure, and they were so grateful to the woodcutter that they rewarded him with great sacks of gold.
The thief lived an honest life from that day on, and the woodcutter's wife never again kept a secret from her husband. And they all lived happily ever after.
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