There once lived in Japan a rat and his wife, folk of noble race, who
had one beautiful daughter. They were exceedingly proud of her charms,
and dreamed, as parents will, of the grand marriage she was sure
to make in time. Proud of his pure rodent blood, the father saw no
son-in-law more to be desired than a young rat of ancient lineage,
whose attentions to his daughter were very marked. This match,
however, brilliant as it was, seemed not to the mother's taste. Like
many people who think themselves made out of special clay, she had a
very poor opinion of her own kind, and was ambitious for an alliance
with the highest circles. To the stars! was her motto, she always
said, and really, when one has a daughter of incomparable beauty, one
may well hope for an equally incomparable son-in-law.
"Address yourself to the sun at once, then," cried the impatient
father one day; "there is nothing above him, surely."
"Quite so; I had already thought of it," she answered, "and since you,
too, are in sympathy with the idea, we will make our call to-morrow."
So, on the following morning the proud father and the haughty
mother-rat went together to present their lovely daughter to the orb
of day.
"Lord Sun," said the mother, "let me present our only daughter, who
is so beautiful that there is nothing like her in the whole world.
Naturally we desire a son-in-law as wonderful as she, and, as you see,
we have come to you first of all."
"Really," said the sun, "I am extremely flattered by your proposal,
but you do me too much honor; there is some one greater than I; it is
the cloud. Look, if you do not believe."... And at that moment the
cloud arrived, and with one waft of his folds extinguished the sun
with all his golden rays.
"Very well; let us speak to the cloud, then," said the mother-rat, not
in the least disconcerted.
"Immensely honored, I am sure," replied the cloud in his turn, "but
you are again mistaken; there is some one greater than I; it is the
wind. You shall see."
At the same moment along came the wind, and with one blow swept the
cloud out of sight, after which, overturning father, mother, and
daughter, he tumbled with them, pell-mell, at the foot of an old wall.
"Quick, quick," cried the mother-rat, struggling to her feet, "and let
us repeat our compliments to the wind."
"You'd better address yourself to the wall," growled the wind roughly.
"You see very well he is greater than I, for he stops me and makes me
draw back."
No sooner had she heard these words than mother-rat faced about and
presented her daughter to the wall. Ah, but now the fair rat-maiden
imitated the wind; she drew back also. He whom she really adored in
her heart of hearts was the fascinating young rat who had paid his
court to her so well. However, to please her mother, she had consented
to wed the Sun, in spite of his blinding rays, or the cloud, in spite
of his sulky look, even the wind, in spite of his brusque manner; but
an old, broken wall!... No! death would be better a thousand times.
Fortunately the wall excused himself, like all the rest. "Certainly,"
he said, "I can stop the wind, who can sweep away the cloud, who can
cover up the Sun, but there is some one greater than I: it is the rat,
who can pass through my body, and can even, if he chooses, reduce
me to powder with his teeth. Believe me, you need seek no better
son-in-law; greater than the rat, there is nothing in the world."
"Do you hear that, wife, do you hear it?" cried father-rat in triumph.
"Didn't I always say so?"
"Quite true! you always did," returned the mother-rat in wonder, and
suddenly glowed with pride in her ancient name and lineage.
So they all three went home, very happy and contented, and on the
morrow the lovely rat-maiden married her faithful rat-lover.
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