(“Kotori no ie” by Akamatsu Gessen, illustrated by Tateno Yasunosuke, in Bukkyo Dōwa Zenshū, Vol. 8, p. 139-147, Translation by Henry Adams)
Long ago in the Latter Han Dynasty, there was a family named Yang who lived in the Chinese capital. They had one son named Bao. This story takes place when Bao was nine years old.
Bao’s father worked for a government official of low rank, but he was a dedicated and hard-working man. Bao’s mother was a quiet and deeply caring woman. While she did not make a particularly strong impression at first, even a passing conversation with her would give a genuine sense of her true kindness.
Bao’s mother was kind to little birds. She did not keep them as pets, but they would be naturally drawn to her, because she always set scraps of food outside the kitchen for them to eat.
Continue reading “The Home of Little Birds”