And thereafter, when he became a great artist and taught many boys to draw, he laughed as he told his pupils, “My first great picture was a drawing of cats, and for it I received twenty yen.” And his pupils were much astonished and called him always “The Painter of Cats.”
Footnotes
[20] Sash.
[21] Punk.
[22] Good morning, Father—Good morning, Mother.
[23] Boy.
[24] Heavenly bamboo, a tree with bright scarlet berries.
[25] Hangings or pictures.
THE COMING OF BENTEN SAMA
Long ago the river of Kashigoye flowed into the sea by the Marsh of the Terrible Dragons. The dragons were five, and yearly they came forth and devoured the maidens of the village and there was no way to hinder. But the people cried loudly to Benten Sama, the goddess of mothers, the bestower of love and beauty.