Japanese Folk Tale

6. Finding Treasures
55. Goro's Broken Bowl
A certain man gave each of his sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo,
money and told them to become successful at something and to come
home in three years. Saburo became a dealer in cotton and Jiro
became a dealer in rice, but lazy Taro just stuck his money into his
bosom and went far back into the mountains. There he met a yamauba,
to whom he told everything. He worked for her for three years. When
the time was up, she said he had worked well and gave him a dirty
bowl. He accepted it and went home where Jiro and Saburo had already
returned as independent merchants. The father looked at Taro
arriving in his dirty clothes and asked him what he had learned. The
bowl in his bosom told him to say he had learned thieving. At that, the
father told Taro he would have to steal his horse that night to show
him. The father hired young men to guard the horse and tied a scallop
shell to his dog's mouth to prevent the theft. Taro put his bowl into
his bosom and went to the stable. The bowl fell out and dug a hole so
he could go inside. He shouted, "I'm going to steal the horse now!"
While everyone was rushing around in excitement, he led the horse out
and took it to his father.
Aomori, Sannohe-gun, Gonohe-macl
Aomori, Sannohe-gun, Gonohe-machi: Dai-ichi 36, "The thieving bowl"
(Nusubi to wanko) Example. There is also a version in which he
received a little chick instead of a bowl.