Japan Warashibe Choja

tale:japan_warashibe_choja

A poor man, told by Kannon to treasure the first thing he grasps, leaves the temple clutching a single straw. To the straw he ties a horsefly, which delights a crying child; trading up by chance and kindness — straw for oranges, oranges for cloth, cloth for a horse, the horse for a house and fields — he becomes a wealthy man. Moral: humble beginnings, met with honesty and goodwill, may compound into fortune. — Japanese folktale