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104 HONDA THE SAMUKAL
to the ground panting for breath. Ono was now
greatly interested. He stood and watched patiently
till, after a long while, the little creature made a big
leap, seized the willow branch with both front and
hind legs,
and was soon climbing up to the trunk
almost as fast as a monkey climbs a persimmontree.
"The nobleman took the lesson to heart. 'Surely,'
thought he, as he walked slowly home, 'if this
tiny frog can thus persevere to catch a willow
branch, I ought to be patient enough to acquire
learning.' He immediately began to study, and hired
a teacher. So earnestly did he apply himself that in
a few years he was known as an elegant scholar
and writer. He won great fame before he died, and
specimens of his penmanship and literary composition
are still preserved at Nara and shown to visitors,
who admire them greatly."
Thank you, honored father ;
that is a good perseverance
story," said Kine". "I like yours best
because the frog remains a frog and does n't change
into something else. In the fairy tales, the fox turns
into a lady and the lady into a fox, the badger turns
a somersault and becomes a daimio, and the cat is
transformed into an old woman. All kinds of
strange things happen which we never see in the
real animals. That 's
why I like real stories and
history."
" But, honored father," said Time",
" has n't the
story of the Genji something about ladies in it, or
at least something that tells about birds and flowers