Taro's Reward Summary

'Taros Reward' is a popular fairy tale in Japan. It contains the story of a son Taro who wanted to fulfill his father's wishes.

Taro was a poor boy. He made money by cutting wood from the forest. But the money he earned was not enough for him and his parents.

One day cold winds started blowing. All the people in the house felt cold as the air passed through the crevices of the wooden house. Her father wished that if he could consume some "sock" to elevate his heart. (Sake is a popular and expensive drink in Japan.)

Taro was unhappy because he did not have the money to afford expensive eats.

He decided to work hard. The next day he woke up early and went to the forest to cut wood.

Suddenly he heard the sound of water falling. This surprised him because there was no river here earlier.

As he was also thirsty, he followed the sound of water. Soon he found a waterfall behind the rock. He went to the fall and put his hand in the water. To his amazement, he found that water was not water but for sake. He was happy and filled something in his pitcher.

On reaching home, he gave it to his father. The father ate and danced happily.

A neighbor came in the evening. The father gave him a cup. The woman happily took care of herself. The father tells him about the whole incident that happened to Taro.

Now this woman spread the news to all the people of the village. Every villager reached Taro's house and took care.

The next morning Taro woke up again, searched the largest pitcher and went to the waterfall.

To his surprise, he found that other villagers were also about to fall.

Soon people fell down and tasted the sake. But they found that autumn water was not plain water. The people became angry and decided to pull Taro in the fall.

Taro hid behind a rock and waited until all the villagers went home. He now tasted water again. But to his surprise, he still felt that it was for the sake. Gir was giving the sake to Taro while the villagers were giving him plain water.

The story of Taro's care for his parents reaches the king. He awarded Taro twenty pieces of gold to encourage other children to care for their parents.

We should take care of our parents and elder. God only helps those who take good care of their parents.