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Tongue-Cut Sparrow, The Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower, The Old Man Who Made Trees Blossom, Japanese stories, Japanese folklore, Yei Theodora Ozaki, fables, animal stories, spirituality, moral tales, ethics and social mores, man and his environment
Yei Theodora Ozaka compiled the stories in honor of Eleanor Marion-Crawford in 1908 with the encouragement of Mr. Andrew Lang, editor of the color Fairy Books. Within the collection are two favorite stories, The Tongue-cut Sparrow and The Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower, reflecting the respect given to nature in eastern cultures. In both these stories, the environment is not merely a backdrop and the animals not merely props, but essential to imparting the message of the stories to differentiate good from evil. In western thought, environment and animals are generally implements of exploitation for man to further his own interests. A sheep is for shearing so that the wool will be combed and spun into tangible reward. Even when animals are used symbolically, they usually represent stereotyped virtues and vices: pig represents greed; snake, lethal evil; sheep, aimless brainlessness and so on. Even within Aesop's Fables, the animals have been given particular character traits and cast as types of human behavior: fox as cunning, dog as loyal, frogs as fatuous vanity, asses as imbecilic drudges. This is not so in the stories that Ozaka presents. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow is the companion and comforter of the old man. When he comes home after spending a hard day in the fields, the little sparrow greets him with a happy dance and cheers him, not his grumbling, resentful wife. The sparrow represents a third dimension of our world where the spiritual and natural overlap, in which we have a glimpse of the divine through natural phenomena. Moreoever, the story has greater depth than the simple moralizing of being kind to your web-footed and fine-feathered friends to receive a reward in life. The old man's reward is not because he wears the white hat, but because he has compassion on a defenseless victim of unjustifiable vengeance and pursues a path of compassion. Although he cannot undo the evil his wife has made, he tries to amend the wrongs. The story is not severed from reality, but blends fable and reality together by lending the animals voices. Similarly in The Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower, the dog and the trrees are essential to the movement of the story. We understand the brutality of the wicked neighbor through his vicious attack on the old man's dog. How much crueler can one be than to kill a beloved pet? Animals are central in the lives of many, whether as work animals or as pets or therapists. Dogs are companions for the blind, the handicapped, the traumatized, the elderly. They assist people to live through situations and crisis that would otherwise be crippling to their lives. Dogs are now used in courthouses where traumatized kids must testify regarding violence or abuse. They make the harrowing investigations and testimonies bearable by showing affection and reassuring the children through their presence. Pets relieve the anxiety and loneliness of the solitary members of society, particularly the elderly who have no children to care for them. They become part of the family, having routines that often assist their owners in community socialization. Ask any dog-owner and he will tell you about all the people he knows at the local park. |
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