The Worlds Most Foolish Traveler

There once was a boy named Yosoji. His mother was ill with smallpox.Yosoji went to a magician's house an asked him what to do. The magician advised Yosoji to go to a stream at the foot of Mt. Fuji by the shrine of the God of Long Breath. The water in the stream was magical and it would surely cure his mother. Yosoji thanked the magician and headed off to Mt. Fuji. After walking for a short while, Yosoji realized he was getting near the shrine. But there were three paths. Yosoji wondered which one to take. As he was debating over the matter,a beautiful maiden appeared in front of him and led him to the stream. Yosoji drank some of the gleaming water himself, then scooped some up in a gourd to take to his mother. Before he left, the maiden said to him," Come back in three days time. You will need more of this water." After five more visits to the stream,Yosoji found that not only his mother, but the other villagers that had been lucky enough to get some of the water had been cured. They thanked Yosoji time after time but he knew that it was really due to the beautiful maiden that had been his guide that they were all well again. He wanted to thank her so he followed the path that led to the stream.When he got there, he discovered that the stream had dried up and was no longer there. Yosoji knelt down and wept bitterly, for he had loved this maiden dearly. Then he turned around and there she stood, smiling sweetly. Yosoji asked to know her name, but she did not reply.He asked again, but the maiden just kept smiling. Then, a cloud came down, enclosed her inside, and she floated to the very top of Mt. Fuji. Yosoji knew then that he had been helped by none other than the goddess of Mt.Fuji. He had been in love with the goddess of Mt. Fuji. Then, as the cloud was raised higher and higher into the sky, the goddess dropped down a branch of small pink blossoms, perhaps a token of her love for Yosoji. Yosoji knew he would always keep the branch and remember that his mother had been cured by the goddess of Mt. Fuji.