University of Virginia Library

12. An Incident

I know of one especial incident that struck me at the time I heard of it as being so touching, yet pretty, that I think I will tell you of it. One little Japanese girl spent all her little savings, which consisted of a little over seven yen (silver dollars) in buying a present for an American lady who at one time had befriended her. She walked a distance of over fifteen miles in the early morning, in order to reach the home of the lady before the noon hour set in, because she had no money left wherewith to hire a conveyance. The tea house where she was employed was situated on the highway between Tokyo and Kyoto, and the American lady lived in Tokyo. When she finally reached her destination, she sank down on the little step in front of the house, leaning against the wall, and slipping her shoes, or sandals, from her feet.

"Why, Natsu-san, is that you?" The American lady was standing by her. The girl raised a bright, beaming face to hers and displayed her gift joyously.

"Tha's account I lig' you," she said simply, in pretty broken English.

The American lady's sweet blue eyes were misty. She knew how little the girl could afford to bring such a gift to her. It was an exquisite silk obi (sash) about fourteen feet long and fourteen inches wide, besides being doubled, and made of the finest material.

"Tha's account this New Year, an' I thing' that I mek' you present, because you bin' mos' vaery kin' to me."

"Why, Natsu-san, what did you bring me this for?"

The American lady had even forgotten wherein she had been kind to the girl. I believe it was that she had at one time saved the girl from being whipped by an unscrupulous master, and had obtained her a good position, her husband having some influence in Tokyo. Perhaps the sweetest characteristic of the Japanese is their innate gratitude for the smallest act of kindness displayed to them.

"It was awfully sweet of you Natsu-san."

The girl made a graceful gesture of dissent.

"I nod vaery sweed," she said, "I thing' pretty Americazan lady vaery sweed."

So the general good spirit and feeling spreads to the foreigners as well as the Japanese themselves, and as one surveys the happy, contented faces of this little people, they shudder at the terrible old missionary adage that "man is vile." Ah, not in Japan!