"The Tongue-cut Sparrow.” Japanese fairy tales, Teresa Peirce Williston, Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co, 1904, pp. 56-64.

Tale Summary

There was once a little old woman who found a poor little sparrow on her doorstep and took good care of him. Instead of flying home, he stayed to thank her with his songs, but a cross old woman who lived nearby did not appreciate being awakened so early. One day she caught the sparrow and cut his tongue, and the poor thing flew back to his home and could never sing again. When the kind woman heard what had happened to her companion, she traveled with her husband to find him. They asked all creatures on the wayside if they had seen the bird, and with the help of a bat and a field mouse they were able to find his home down the mountains and through the woods. The sparrow and his wife and children were all very happy to welcome their visitors, brought them good food and saké, and the tongue-cut sparrow performed the “sparrow-dance”. That night, the old couple set back out again for home, when the sparrow told them that he wanted to give them a gift. He showed them two baskets, one much smaller and lighter than the other, and asked them to choose one. The old people chose the lighter basket as they did not want to take too much from their friend, and when they reached home they saw that it was full of many rolls of silk and piles of gold. The cross old woman happened to be peering through the screen and saw what had happened, and wanted such treasures for herself. The next morning she went to the kind woman and asked where the sparrow lived so that she may apologize to him, and was given directions. When she arrived at his house the sparrow was not at all pleased, but still did everything he could to make her feel welcome, and offered her the choice of two baskets just as before. She chose the larger basket, thinking it would make her even wealthier than her kind neighbors, and struggled to make it home because of the weight and was half dead when she arrived there. She pulled her screens shut and opened the basket, which was full of a swarm of horrible creatures which stung and bit her. Trying to escape, she opened the door, but the creatures grabbed her and flew away with her, and nothing was heard of the cross old woman since.