question_answer 4)

(i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first? (ii) How did it help him next ?  

Answer:

(i)The spirit of the dog told the farmer to cut down the pine tree over his grave and make from it a mortar for his rice pastry and a mill for his bean sauce. The old farmer did accordingly. When the rice was boiled, it was put into the mortar to turn it into dough by grinding it. Suddenly the entire mass turned into a heap of gold coins. (ii) Next time the dog spirit told the farmer to collect some ashes of the burnt mill from the greedy couple. The spirit also told him to sprinkle the ash oh the withered tree to change them into blooming ones. The farmer did the same when his lord, the daimio, passed through a withered cherry tree. The cherry tree instantly burst into blossom. It gave cool shade to the king. The king was delighted. He gave huge wealth to the farmer,