"O mother, never weep for me! it is not kindness to mourn for the dead. Over the River of Tears(3) their silent road is; and when mothers weep, the flood of that river rises, and the soul cannot pass, but must wander to and fro.
"Therefore, I pray you, do not grieve, O mother mine! Only give me a little water sometimes."
(1) Whence the Izumo saying about one who too often announces his coming: "Thy talk is like the talk of necromancy!"—Toritsubanashi no yona.
(2) Migawari, "substitute," is the religious term.
(3) "Namida-no-Kawa."
III
From that hour she was not seen to weep. She performed, lightly and silently, as in former days, the gentle duties of a daughter.
Seasons passed; and her father thought to find another husband for her. To the mother, he said:—
"If our daughter again have a son, it will be great joy for her, and for all of us."
But the wiser mother made answer:—