" To this the badger nodded assent; and
as long as the old priest lived, it came and spent the winter nights
with him.
From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense of gratitude:
in this quality dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the story of the dog
of Totoribe Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan? I[5] have heard that
many anecdotes of this nature have been collected and printed in a book,
which I have not yet seen; but as the facts which I have recorded relate
to a badger, they appear to me to be passing strange.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 3: A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the
sounds of the original Sanscrit has been preserved. The meaning of the
prayer is explained as, "Save us, eternal Buddha'" Many even of the
priests who repeat it know it only as a formula, without understanding
it.]
[Footnote 4: An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its gold
mines.]
[Footnote 5: The author of the tale.]
VIII
WHY BROTHER BEAR HAS NO TAIL
"I 'clar' ter gracious, honey," Uncle Remus exclaimed one night, as the
little boy ran in, "you sholy ain't chaw'd yo' vittles. Hit ain't bin no
time, skacely, sence de supper-bell rung, en ef you go on dis a-way,
you'll des nat'ally pe'sh yo'se'f out."
"Oh, I wasn't hungry," said the little boy. "I had something before
supper, and I wasn't hungry anyway.
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