THE BADGER'S MONEY
by Unknown · from Folk Tales Every Child Should Know
Adapted Version
A kind monk lived long ago. He lived in a small house. Being kind is good. Saying thank you is good. Creatures can show thanks. People should show thanks too.
The Kind Monk was old. He lived alone in his small house. He prayed each day. He was a good man. His neighbors helped him. They gave him food. They fixed his roof. He was happy.
One night it was very cold. The Kind Monk heard a voice. "Monk! Monk!" it said. He looked outside. A Grateful Badger stood there. It was very cold. It needed help.
The Kind Monk was not scared. "Come in," he said. "Warm yourself. Badger was happy." It went inside. It sat by the warm fire. It felt warm now.
Each winter night, the Grateful Badger came. It brought dry leaves. It brought small sticks. This was for the fire. The Kind Monk liked its presence. This happened for many years.
One day, the Grateful Badger spoke. "You are so kind," it said. "I thank you very much. How can I help you? Monk smiled."
Monk said, 'Nothing.' Badger wanted help. "Well," said the monk, "I wish for three shiny gold coins. They are for a special gift."
The Grateful Badger looked sad. It went away. It did not come back. The Kind Monk felt worried. He thought the badger was hurt. He thought it was gone always.
Three years passed. One night, a voice called. "Monk! Monk!" It was the Grateful Badger. The Kind Monk was very happy.
The Grateful Badger had gold coins. It gave them to the monk. "I went far away," it said. "I found special sand. I made the gold shine. It is pure for your gift."
The Kind Monk saw the gold. He saw the badger's hard work. He was very touched. The badger worked so hard. He felt so thankful.
"Please tell no one," said the badger. The monk said, "I must tell the story." "But you are safe," he said. "Come back always. Come warm yourself."
The Grateful Badger nodded. It came each winter. It stayed with the Kind Monk. They were good friends.
It is good to be kind. It is good to say thank you. Even a small friend can do big, kind things.
Original Story
THE BADGER'S MONEY
It is a common saying among men that to forget favours received is the part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man will be ill spoken of by all the world. And yet even birds and beasts will show gratitude; so that a man who does not requite a favour is worse even than dumb brutes. Is not this a disgrace?
Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called Namékata, in Hitachi, there lived an old priest famous neither for learning nor wisdom, but bent only on passing his days in prayer and meditation. He had not even a child to wait upon him, but prepared his food with his own hands. Night and morning he recited the prayer "Namu Amida Butsu,"[3] intent upon that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did not reach far, yet his neighbours respected and revered him, and often brought him food and raiment; and when his roof or his walls fell out of repair, they would mend them for him; so for the things of this world he took no thought.
One very cold night, when he little thought any one was outside, he heard a voice calling, "Your reverence! your reverence!" So he rose and went out to see who it was, and there he beheld an old badger standing. Any ordinary man would have been greatly alarmed at the apparition; but the priest, being such as he has been described above, showed no sign of fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this the badger respectfully bent its knees and said:
"Hitherto, sir, my lair has been in the mountains, and of snow or frost I have taken no heed; but now I am growing old, and this severe cold is more than I can bear. I pray you to let me enter and warm myself at the fire of your cottage, that I may live through this bitter night."
When the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was reduced to, he was filled with pity and said:
"That's a very slight matter: make haste and come in and warm yourself."
The badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into the hut, and squatting down by the fire began to warm itself; and the priest, with renewed fervour, recited his prayers and struck his bell before the image of Buddha, looking straight before him.
After two hours the badger took its leave, with profuse expressions of thanks, and went out; and from that time forth it came every night to the hut. As the badger would collect and bring with it dried branches and dead leaves from the hills for firewood, the priest at last became very friendly with it, and got used to its company; so that if ever, as the night wore on, the badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and wonder why it did not come. When the winter was over, and the springtime came at the end of the second month, the badger gave up its visits, and was no more seen; but, on the return of the winter, the beast resumed its old habit of coming to the hut. When this practice had gone on for ten years, one day the badger said to the priest, "Through your reverence's kindness for all these years, I have been able to pass the winter nights in comfort. Your favours are such that during all my life, and even after my death, I must remember them. What can I do to requite them? If there is anything that you wish for, pray tell me."
The priest, smiling at this speech, answered: "Being such as I am, I have no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to hear your kind intentions, there is nothing that I can ask you to do for me. You need feel no anxiety on my account. As long as I live, when the winter comes, you shall be welcome here." The badger, on hearing this, could not conceal its admiration of the depth of the old man's benevolence; but having so much to be grateful for, it felt hurt at not being able to requite it. As this subject was often renewed between them, the priest at last, touched by the goodness of the badger's heart, said: "Since I have shaven my head, renounced the world, and forsaken the pleasures of this life, I have no desire to gratify, yet I own I should like to possess three riyos in gold. Food and raiment I receive by the favour of the villagers, so I take no heed for those things. Were I to die to-morrow, and attain my wish of being born again into the next world, the same kind folk have promised to meet and bury my body. Thus, although I have no other reason to wish for money, still if I had three riyos I would offer them up at some holy shrine, that masses and prayers might be said for me, whereby I might enter into salvation. Yet I would not get this money by violent or unlawful means; I only think of what might be if I had it. So you see, since you have expressed such kind feelings toward me, I have told you what is on my mind." When the priest had done speaking, the badger leant its head on one side with a puzzled and anxious look, so much so that the old man was sorry he had expressed a wish which seemed to give the beast trouble, and tried to retract what he had said. "Posthumous honours, after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest, ought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money; so pray pay no attention to what I have said;" and the badger, feigning assent to what the priest had impressed upon it, returned to the hills as usual.
From that time forth the badger came no more to the hut. The priest thought this very strange, but imagined either that the badger stayed away because it did not like to come without the money, or that it had been killed in an attempt to steal it; and he blamed himself for having added to his sins for no purpose, repenting when it was too late: persuaded, however, that the badger must have been killed, he passed his time in putting up prayers upon prayers for it.
After three years had gone by, one night the old man heard a voice near his door calling out, "Your reverence! your reverence!"
As the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped up as soon as he heard it, and ran to open the door; and there, sure enough, was the badger. The priest, in great delight, cried out: "And so you are safe and sound, after all! Why have you been so long without coming here? I have been expecting you anxiously this long while."
So the badger came into the hut and said: "If the money which you required had been for unlawful purposes, I could easily have procured as much as ever you might have wanted; but when I heard that it was to be offered to a temple for masses for your soul, I thought that, if I were to steal the hidden treasure of some other man, you could not apply to a sacred purpose money which had been obtained at the expense of his sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,[4] and gathering the sand and earth which had been cast away as worthless by the miners, fused it afresh in the fire; and at this work I spent months and days." As the badger finished speaking, the priest looked at the money which it had produced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and new and clean; so he took the money, and received it respectfully, raising it to his head.
"And so you have had all this toil and labour on account of a foolish speech of mine? I have obtained my heart's desire, and am truly thankful."
As he was thanking the badger with great politeness and ceremony, the beast said: "In doing this I have but fulfilled my own wish; still I hope that you will tell this thing to no man."
"Indeed," replied the priest, "I cannot choose but tell this story. For if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be stolen by thieves: I must either give it to some one to keep for me, or else at once offer it up at the temple. And when I do this, when people see a poor old priest with a sum of money quite unsuited to his station, they will think it very suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it occurred; but I shall say that the badger that gave me the money has ceased coming to my hut, you need not fear being waylaid, but can come, as of old, and shelter yourself from the cold." To this the badger nodded assent; and as long as the old priest lived, it came and spent the winter nights with him.
From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense of gratitude: in this quality dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the story of the dog of Totoribé Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan? I[5] have heard that many anecdotes of this nature have been collected and printed in a book, which I have not yet seen; but as the facts which I have recorded relate to a badger, they appear to me to be passing strange.
VIII
Story DNA
Moral
True gratitude, even from a humble creature, can lead to extraordinary acts of kindness and self-sacrifice.
Plot Summary
An old, kind priest grants shelter to a freezing badger every winter for ten years. Out of gratitude, the badger offers to repay the priest, who eventually expresses a humble wish for three gold riyos to offer for posthumous prayers. The badger disappears for three years, causing the priest to fear the worst, but returns with three newly refined gold coins, explaining it painstakingly created them from discarded ore on Sado Island to ensure the money was pure for a sacred purpose. The priest, deeply moved by the badger's self-sacrifice, accepts the gift, and the badger continues its winter visits for the rest of the priest's life, demonstrating profound animal gratitude.
Themes
Emotional Arc
pity to admiration to profound gratitude
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
The story reflects traditional Japanese Buddhist practices and folk beliefs about animals, particularly badgers (tanuki) which are often depicted as mischievous but also sometimes wise or benevolent shapeshifters.
Plot Beats (14)
- The story opens with a reflection on gratitude, stating that even animals show it more than ungrateful men.
- An old, devout priest lives a solitary life of prayer in a hut, sustained by the kindness of his neighbors.
- One very cold night, an old badger, desperate from the cold, calls to the priest, asking for shelter.
- The priest, showing no fear, invites the badger in to warm itself by the fire, and the badger gratefully accepts.
- The badger begins a routine of visiting the priest's hut every winter night for ten years, often bringing firewood.
- After ten years, the badger expresses profound gratitude and asks how it can repay the priest's kindness.
- The priest initially says he has no desires, but eventually, touched by the badger's sincerity, admits a wish for three gold riyos to offer for masses for his soul after death.
- The badger looks troubled and then disappears, ceasing its visits, leading the priest to believe it was killed trying to obtain the money.
- Three years later, the badger returns, much to the priest's delight and relief.
- The badger explains it had to go to the island of Sado to gather discarded sand and earth, which it then refined into pure gold, ensuring the money was untainted for a sacred purpose.
- The priest is deeply touched by the badger's immense effort and self-sacrifice.
- The badger asks the priest not to tell anyone, but the priest explains he must, as the money's origin would be questioned, but assures the badger it can still visit safely.
- The badger agrees, and continues its winter visits to the priest's hut for the remainder of the priest's life.
- The story concludes by reiterating the theme of animal gratitude, comparing the badger's act to that of dogs.
Characters
The Old Priest
A frail, elderly man, likely thin from a simple ascetic life, with a stooped posture from age and years of meditation. His skin would be weathered and wrinkled, typical of someone living a humble existence in rural Japan.
Attire: Simple, worn grey or brown monk's robes (koromo) made of rough, durable fabric, possibly patched in places. He would wear a white undergarment (juban) and perhaps a black or dark grey outer robe (kesa) draped over one shoulder, signifying his priestly vows. His attire is practical and unadorned, reflecting his detachment from worldly possessions.
Wants: To live a life of prayer and meditation, achieve salvation, and ultimately be reborn into the next world. He also desires to offer prayers for his soul at a holy shrine.
Flaw: His detachment from worldly matters makes him somewhat impractical and vulnerable to the complexities of the material world, as seen when he struggles with the implications of receiving money.
He remains largely unchanged in his core virtues but learns a deeper appreciation for the unique forms of gratitude and the unexpected sources of help, reinforcing his belief in universal kindness.
Benevolent, compassionate, devout, humble, patient, and somewhat naive about worldly affairs. He is deeply spiritual and values kindness above all else.
The Old Badger
A large, old Japanese badger (tanuki), with a stout, somewhat rounded body. Its fur is shaggy and grizzled, showing signs of age, with a mix of grey, brown, and black tones. It has short legs and a bushy tail.
Attire: None, as it is an animal, but its fur is its natural covering.
Wants: To repay the kindness shown by the Old Priest, driven by a strong sense of gratitude and honor.
Flaw: Its intense desire to repay a favor can lead it to undertake arduous and time-consuming tasks, isolating itself for long periods.
The badger's character is consistent in its gratitude, but its actions evolve from simply seeking warmth to actively and painstakingly fulfilling a complex request, demonstrating the depth of its loyalty.
Grateful, persistent, resourceful, intelligent, and deeply loyal. It is also very considerate, taking great pains to acquire money ethically for the priest.
Locations
Priest's Hut at Namékata
A simple, small, and somewhat dilapidated traditional Japanese hut (minka) in a rural setting, likely with a thatched roof and sliding paper screens (shoji). Inside, it contains a small fire pit (irori) for warmth and cooking, and a humble altar with a Buddha image and a bell. The walls and roof occasionally fall into disrepair, suggesting a rustic, unadorned structure.
Mood: Humble, peaceful, warm (by the fire), solitary, later becomes a place of quiet companionship.
The priest lives here; the badger first seeks shelter here and returns for many winters, forming a bond with the priest. The priest expresses his wish for money here.
Mountains near Namékata
The natural habitat of the badger, characterized by severe cold, snow, and frost during winter. It's a wild, untamed environment where the badger collects dried branches and dead leaves for firewood.
Mood: Harsh, desolate, wild, cold, survival-focused.
The badger's original lair; it gathers firewood from here. It's the place the badger retreats to after its visits.
Island of Sado
A remote island known for its mining operations, specifically gold mining. The badger describes gathering 'sand and earth which had been cast away as worthless by the miners' and fusing it, implying a landscape scarred by mining activity, with discarded ore and tailings.
Mood: Industrial, laborious, desolate, determined.
The badger travels here for three years to laboriously create the gold for the priest, demonstrating its profound gratitude.