Once there was a good old man who lived up on a high plain, far away in Japan. All around his little house the land was flat and the ground was rich, and there were the rice-fields of all the people who lived in the village at the mountain"s foot. Every morning and every evening the old man and his little grandson, who lived with him, used to look far down on the people at work in the village, and watch the blue sea which lay all around the land so close that there was no room for fields below, but only for houses. The little boy loved the rice- fields dearly, for he knew that the good food for all the people came from them. He often helped his grandfather to watch over them.
One day the grandfather was standing alone before his house, looking far down at the people, and out at the sea, when suddenly he saw something very strange far off where the sea and sky met. Something like a great cloud was rising there, as if the sea were lifting itself high into the sky. The old man put his hands to his eyes and looked again as hard as his old sight could. Then he turned and ran to the house. "Yone! (yo-nee) Yone!" he cried; " bring a brand fromthe hearth!"
The little grandson wondered what his grandfather wanted with fire, but his habit was to obey, so he ran quickly and brought the brand. The old man already had one, and was running towards the rice-fields. Yone ran after him. What was his horror to see his grandfather thrust his burning brand into the ripe, dry rice, that stood ready for the harvest.
"Oh, grandfather, grandfather !" screamed the little boy, "what are you doing?""Quick; set fire; thrust your brand in!" said the grand- father.
Yone thought his dear grandfather had lost his wits, and he began to sob; but a little Japanese boy always obeys, so, though he sobbed, he thrust his torch in, and the sharp flame ran up the dry stalks, red and yellow. In an instant, the field was ablaze, and thick, black smoke began to pour upwards. It rose from the mountain like a cloud, black and fierce; and, almost at once, the people below saw that their precious rice-fields were on fire. Ah, how they ran! Men, women, and children climbed the mountain, running as fast as they could to save the rice. Not one person stayed behind.
When they came to the high plain and saw the beautifulrice-crop all in flames, beyond help, they cried bitterly, "Whohas done this thing? How did it happen?"
"I set fire," said the old man, very gravely; and the little grandson sobbed, "Grandfather set fire."But, when they came fiercely round the old man, with "Why?" "Why?" he only turned and pointed to the sea. "Look!" he said.
They all turned and looked. There, where the blue sea had lain so calm, a mighty wall of water, reaching from earth to sky, was rolling in. No one could scream, so terrible was the sight. The wall of water rolled in on the land, passed quite over the place where the village had been, and broke, with an awful sound, on the mountain side. One wave more, and still one more, came; and then all was water as far as they could look below; the village where they had been was under the sea.
But the people were all safe. And, when they saw what the old man had done, they honoured him above all men for the quick wit which had saved them from the tidal wave.
Adapted from a story by Lafcadio Hearn
Author.-Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was born in the Ionian Islands, near Greece. His native place was Leucadia, pronounced lef-ca"- di-a, the name which he adopted. Trained for a priest, he gave up the church and became a journalist in the United States, then wandered through many countries till he reached Japan, where be became aprofessor of English literature in the University of Tokyo, married a Japanese woman, and adopted the Buddhist religion. He wrote many books dealing with Japanese life and customs.
General Notes.-Tidal waves, such as those mentioned in the story,usually follow earthquakes, which are themselves connected with volcanoes and volcanic action. The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by a volcanic girdle. Find all the volcanoes you can in this circuit. What quality did the grandfather exhibit in presence of danger? Can you suggest other means less destructive?