“Make a rice bowl from this tree,” the voice said.
And so the old man made a rice bowl from the tree.
The old man then decided that he would make some rice cakes, place them in the bowl and leave them beside poor Pochi’s grave.
But once again, something very strange happened.
Right before his eyes, the rice cakes began to change into gold coins.
Hearing about this, the greedy neighbor stole the bowl and placed some rice cakes in it.
And, right before his eyes, the first rice cake changed into a lump of horse manure. Then, the second rice cake turned into a cowpat.
No matter how many rice cakes he placed in the bowl, they all turned into something rather nasty.
Red with anger, the man broke the bowl into several pieces and then burnt them.
The old man carefully collected the ash from the fire and carried it back to his home.
On the way, however, the cold winter wind blew the ash from his hands and scattered it in the air.