XXXVIII
THE SAD STORY OF THE YAOYA’S DAUGHTER
There was a wandering ballad-singer who came to a great house in Yedo where they wished to be entertained.
“Will you have a dance or a song?” said the ballad-singer; “or shall I tell you a story?” The people of the house bade him tell a story.
“Shall it be a tale of love or a tale of war?” said the ballad-singer.
“Oh, a tale of love,” they said.
“Will you have a sad tale or a merry?” asked the ballad-singer.
They were all agreed that they would hear a sad tale.
“Well, then,” said the ballad-singer, “listen, and I will tell you the sad story of the Yaoya’s daughter.”
So he told this tale.