THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE
WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER.Long, long ago there lived an old man and his wife who supported
themselves by cultivating a small plot of land. Their life had been
a very happy and peaceful one save for one great sorrow, and this
was they had no child. Their only pet was a dog named Shiro, and on
him they lavished all the affection of their old age. Indeed, they
loved him so much that whenever they had anything nice to eat they
denied themselves to give it to Shiro. Now Shiro means "white," and
he was so called because of his color. He was a real Japanese dog,
and very like a small wolf in appearance.
The happiest hour of the day both for the old man and his dog
was when the man returned from his work in the field, and having
finished his frugal supp
