The tongue-cut sparrow

Thousands of moons ago, in a dense, beautiful forest, there lived an old man with his wife. A solitary existence they had – them, the forest, and their little stream. The old man used to go out every day, into the deep forest, and find game and wood for them. His wife did not like to work, and treated him with disrespect, but the old man bore it all, as he was as gentle and kind as he was forgiving. One day, the old man came upon a sparrow in a clearing in the wilderness. It lay on its side, hurt, wings trembling. He felt pity on the little bird and took it back to his hut. Nursed it, every day, until the sparrow became all better.

One fine afternoon, when the wife was out, something miraculous happened. Something wonderful happened! The sparrow spoke to the old man.
Spoke!
In a voice as clear as could be, and more melodious than a harp is. It said to him – let me go, and I will do something for you. Something that will wash away your poverty, make your wife happy, and help you live a better life. The old man was incredulous, amazed. He didn’t believe the sparrow. But his heart could not bear keeping such a wonderful thing caged. So he opened the cage, and released the wondrous creature into the wind. Away the bird flew. The old man’s wife noticed the missing sparrow, but she shrugged it off.

Exactly 3 days later, the sparrow came back. It had kept its promise. It bought back urns, full of gold and pearls. And thanked the old man for saving his life. And also told him, that should he ever need him again, to simply whistle in a particular way near a particular mountain tree, the tree with leaves that blotted out the sun. And away it flew.

The riches transformed them. The old man didn’t care much for material pleasures, but was happy for his wife. He’d still go to the forest every day, but his hut of jute was now a mansion. And so it went, until one day, inevitably, the wealth was gone. Not disheartened in the slightest, the old man said “It’s fine, darling, we’ll live just like before…I miss those days, our simple meals and ways“. But she would have none of that. She knew the secret whistle and the enormous tree. So off she went, looked up to the heavens, and whistled. Thirty heartbeats and a rustle of leaves later, the sparrow appeared right in front of her. She told it, they needed more riches. But the sparrow refused, saying it would only honor the wishes of the old man. And told her, in a somber voice indeed, that greed will one day consume her.

The woman glared. Something deep snapped inside her. She lunged towards the sparrow. Clutched it tightly, and brutally cut its tongue off in one swift move. The sparrow stared right in her eyes, unblinking, and flew away, its face burning in searing pain. The old man’s wife went back home and told him what had happened (except the part where she cut the sparrow’s tongue). And she told him, that she would not eat, sleep, or speak to him until he had found it.

So began his journey, through the hazardous path that led to the mountains. He whistled every day, and it never came. One day, under a sky dotted with stars, he came upon the most beautiful valley he had ever seen. Sparrows flitted throughout, and he soon learnt that his sparrow was a prince of this mystic land. Upon meeting it, the sparrow didn’t say a word. The old man wondered about the reason for this silence. It saddened him, but he told the sparrow what his wife wanted. It nodded, and soon enough a huge iron trunk was brought to the man. He thanked the sparrow profusely and carted the trunk down over to his house.

Upon opening the trunk his wife, ecstatic, was a rich woman once again. But something had changed inside her, something evil awakened. Instead of being grateful, she started abusing the old man. Torturing him, asking him for more. The old man pleaded, saying the sparrow has given him enough. But nothing he said could soothe the fire that now smoldered. So he went again. The sparrow again nodded, in his wise enigmatic way, but also noticed how thin the man had become, how his wife had peeled away his soul. Nevertheless, he gave him now a silver trunk. Larger than before. The old man could not express his relief. Upon opening the trunk, his wife became richer than ever before. She had everything queens had dreamt of, and more. The biggest house in the world, scores of servants, a garden pond that kings would envy. There was nothing she couldn’t have.

But… No.

She wanted more. Pure evil slithered within her. Her husband, the old man, meant absolutely nothing to her now. She asked him, incredibly, for more. He obliged. What could he do? He was simply an old man. Now nothing but an empty shell. He walked to the mountains, yet again, feeling surreally lost. The sparrow did not say a word, neither did the old man. But his eyes told the sparrow everything. And a huge trunk was brought before him. It was enormous. And it was made of GOLD. The old man could not bear it, being the messenger and partaker of evil. He had wanted no more. Regardless, he trudged the trunk home. As soon as his wife saw it, she pushed him away, not even looking at him. All she could see was the gold trunk. And her greed took over, consumed her. Won its battle in her soul. She opened the trunk, and her eyes grew wider than saucers.

Not from the glitter of gold.

But from merciless fear. Out came the deadliest creatures she had ever seen! Snakes, scorpions, and creatures that have no name. 19 legged spiders and bees as big as pumpkins. They lunged on her, slithering, hissing, and screeching. The scream never escaped her lungs. She died in a million different ways. The old man could not bear to see this, but he knew it was to come. He grieved for the woman he had married, and forgave the one he had lost. He went up the mountain again, back to the sparrow. And asked only this – “Why have you not spoken to me since you left, and why did you never come back?”

The sparrow looked straight into his eyes, and opened its beak as wide as it could. Everything fell into place for the old man, the realization twisting inside him. Somehow, he knew. He knew it all. A tear unlatched itself from his eye, and streamed down his cheek.

Fin.

P.S. This is a story my aunt used to tell me as a kid. I don’t remember much of it, so I translated it to English and made it up as I went. I have since discovered that it’s an old folktale from Japan, and this is my version.