Green willow and other Japanese fairy tales . the highpraise of Kwannon the Merciful. The sun set in glory. The valley folk creptsoftly from the shrine and went down to theirown homes. The cold moon and the stars shoneupon the Lone Pine and the Floating Bridge andthe sea. Through a rent in the shrines roof theyillumined the face of Kwannon the Merciful, andmade visible her manifold arms of love. YetSaion Zenji, her servant, stood before her singingin an ecstasy, with tears upon his face : O wonder-woman, strong and beautiful,Tender-hearted, pitiful, and thousand-armed !Thou hast fed me with th
Green willow and other Japanese fairy tales . the highpraise of Kwannon the Merciful. The sun set in glory. The valley folk creptsoftly from the shrine and went down to theirown homes. The cold moon and the stars shoneupon the Lone Pine and the Floating Bridge andthe sea. Through a rent in the shrines roof theyillumined the face of Kwannon the Merciful, andmade visible her manifold arms of love. YetSaion Zenji, her servant, stood before her singingin an ecstasy, with tears upon his face : O wonder-woman, strong and beautiful,Tender-hearted, pitiful, and thousand-armed !Thou hast fed me with thine own flesh—Mystery of mysteries !Poor dead dappled hind thou camst to me ;In the deep of mine own heart thou spoke to meTo keep, yet break, and breaking, keep thy law—Mystery of mysteries !Kwannon, the Merciful Lady, stay with me,Save me from the perils of illusion ;Let me not be afraid of the snow or the Lone of mysteries—Thou hast refused Nirvana,Help me that I may lose the world, content,And sing the Divine Song. 170. THE ESPOUSAL OF THE RAT S DAUGHTER Face page 171 XXII THE ESPOUSAL OF THE RATSDAUGHTER Mr. Nedzumi, the Rat, was an important personagein the hamlet where he lived—at least he was soin his own and his wifes estimation. This was inpart, of course, due to the long line of ancestorsfrom whom he was descended, and to their intimateassociation with the gods of Good Fortune. For,be it remembered, his ancestry went back into aremote past, in fact as far as time itself; for hadnot one of his race been selected as the first animalin the cycle of the hours, precedence being evengiven him over the dragon, the tiger, and thehorse ? As to his intimacy with the gods, hadnot one of his forebears been the chosen companionof the great Daikoku, the most revered and themost beneficent of the gods of Good Fortune ? Mr. Rat was well-to-do in life. His home hadfor generations been established in a snug, warmand cosy bank, hard by one of the most fertile rice-
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